Portrait of a Self-Hating Gay Man

California State Senator Roy Ashburn "came out" yesterday on a Bakersfield radio station, then defiantly (not to mention hypocritically) said that he will return to his seat in Sacramento and continue to vote against the civil rights of gay people in the state. Assburn Ashburn sees no cognitive dissonance in this, contending that his role as an elected official requires him to legislate in a way that "reflects the wishes of my district." It matters not a whit to him that many "in his district" now consider him a biblical abomination and would sooner see him put to death than educate their children or share a bathroom. And that fair enough, I suppose.

What's getting lost in the discussion of Ashburn's hypocrisy is the very real matter of his DUI. The man was arrested for driving drunk, in a state-owned vehicle, at 3 in the morning on a Tuesday night. If he wants to continue to be a self-hating gay man that his prerogative, it's the DUI on our dime that we should all be pissed about.