Coming out of the Woodwork !
SECOND EDITION: STORY DEVELOPING
Minnesota state senator comes out, endorses 'outing' anti- gay politicians
By John Byrne | RAW STORY Editor
A Minnesota state senator who bucked his party in voting against a measure to that would bring an amendment to the state’s constitution to prohibit gay marriage to the full Senate has revealed that he is gay, RAW STORY has learned.
The senator, Republican Paul Koering, has also endorsed efforts to expose gay politicians who wield their power to oppose gay rights.
Koering, 40, hails from farm country, some 150 miles north of Minneapolis. He says his decision to come out was a complex one, but that the marriage amendment vote—aligned with the two year anniversary of his mother’s death—finally led him to believe the time was right.
Koering also spoke at length with Mike Rogers, whose blogACTIVE.com website has reporting on the private gay lives of prominent anti-gay politicians, who he says helped him in his process of coming out. Rogers is also the editor of an editorially independent franchise site of Raw Story Media, RawStoryQ.
Since the vote, Koering says he’s been besieged by calls and emails from people wanting to know his orientation.
“It’s hampered me from doing the real work that I want to do here,” Koering told RAW STORY. “I just felt that I need to talk to these reporters and say, ‘Yep I’m gay, so what?’ and now that’s done let’s talk about the real issues, good paying jobs with healthcare benefits, talk about issues that affect families and people in their daily lives.”
As a proud Republican legislator who stood alone against his party to take a stand against what he sees as discrimination, Koering’s support for reporting on “hypocritical” gay politicians—including Republicans—is certain to send a shockwave through the Washington gay community.
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