Anti-Gay North Dakota Lawmaker Outs Himself After Grindr Debacle

This is a pretty great story. It's the kind of story that restores your faith in humanity for a nanosecond. It's not often that politicians do the right thing in a situation like this, and while this guy tries to keep one foot in the "this whole thing is someone else's fault" camp, he ultimately chose wisely, and how often do you get to say that? Not often enough, that's for sure. 

Meet North Dakota state Representative Randy Boehning, a Republican who recently voted against a bill that would have given LGBT people the same housing and workplace protections as everyone else. According to the Huffington Post (link below), the bill didn't have enough votes to pass, and Boehning's problems were just beginning.

Dustin Smith, a 21-year-old from North Dakota, told The Forum that he had chatted with and received sexually explicit photos from Boehning on Grindr. Smith recognized the lawmaker and explained to The Washington Post why he chose to come forward with the exchanges.

“I just felt like this story had to get out,” Dustin Smith, 21, told The Washington Post. “A [representative] had voted against a bill for the LGBT community and here he was talking to me on Grindr.”

Smith told The Washington Post he confronted the lawmaker before going to the media, asking him, "Doesn’t the hypocrisy bother you?." Boehning did not respond.

Boehning didn't respond directly to Smith, but he did respond publicly by coming out... as bisexual.

Boehning... revealed to The Forum this week that he is attracted to both men and women.

Boehning's revelation came two weeks after he originally declined to comment on information provided to The Forum that appeared to show that the lawmaker used Grindr, a gay dating app.

"The 1,000-pound gorilla has been lifted," he told The Forum on Monday, confirming to the outlet that he had used the app to meet men. "I have to confront it at some point."

Boehning also believes that Smith was pushed into outing him by political opponents...

Smith said that nobody influenced him to come forward. Boehning told The Forum that he believes the outing was orchestrated by political opponents, claiming he was told that another House lawmaker would retaliate against him if he did not vote in favor of the anti-discrimination bill on April 2.

Boehning voted against the bill, which ultimately failed to pass. He says he voted against this and a past bill attempting to provide legal protection for sexual orientation because he didn't believe his constituents supported them.

“This has been a challenge for me,” he told The Forum. “You don’t tell everyone you’re going to vote one way and then switch your vote another way -- you don’t have any credibility that way.” Boehning says he also had concerns about the language of the bill.

So there you have it. He's a man of his convictions, when pushed to at least partially reveal them, and even then, it's someone else's fault. Sounds about par for the course for a politician. 

Via The Huffington Post