The blame in this incident falls squarely on Craig and his fellow conservatives
who seek to shame and criminalize homosexuality. The proposed Constitutional
ban on same-sex marriage-which Craig supported-is exactly the kind of
aggressively exclusionary legislation that marginalizes the gay community.
Republican bigotry is blatant when you compare the party's handling of two of
the summer's biggest political sex scandals. While Senator David Vitter (R-La.)
admitted to indiscretions of his own after Hustler magazine revealed that his
phone number appeared on a client list kept by the infamous D.C. Madam's
prostitution ring, he chose not to resign and his fellow Republican Congressmen
did not pressure him to do so.
But Craig, who pled guilty to his stall-side solicitations, drew harsh
criticism from Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) and Rep.
Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), among others, eventually forcing Craig to suggest that
he would resign. The differences in the way the party handled the two incidents
proves that it's not sex-even illicit sex-that the GOP can't handle, it's just
gay sex. A public restroom may not be an appropriate location for sexual
encounters, but picking someone up is not a crime, and certainly not a crime
worth losing one's job over.
It's also notable that Craig refused to identify himself as a homosexual even
after pleading guilty to the charges. This decision suggests the disgrace stems
not from violating the law against lewd conduct, but rather the homosexual
nature of the charges.
By overtly discriminating against gays and lesbians, conservatives have
encouraged many people in the political arena to conceal their sexuality. This
leads closeted individuals into more secretive and seedier situations which,
when discovered, encourage the public to unfairly associate homosexuality with
inappropriate behavior.
In order to spare itself the embarrassment of yet another scandal, the
Republican Party needs to abandon its bigoted, hypocritical attitudes and
accept the fact that many Americans, and yes, even some Republicans, are gay.
