LOOMING GAY MARRIAGE VOTE IN SENATE PROMPTS NEW 'OUTING' WAVE ON CAPITOL HILL. As the US Senate vote on the proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages approaches, a handful of gay activists have upped the stakes in the fight. DC Attorney/internet consultant John Aravosis -- who was also a Congressional aide on Capitol Hill for more than five years -- is threatening to "out" closeted gay/lesbian federal elected officials who support the amendment or top aides to those federal officials. Aravosis, who publishes the liberal AmericaBlog site, has run ads in the gay Washington Blade newspaper announcing his plans. Another DC gay activist -- Mike Rogers -- has announced similar plans. In furtherance of this outing campaign, Aravosis identified a top aide to US Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) as a closeted gay man. While Inhofe has long had an announced office policy that he will not allow any known gay people to work on his staff, he explained that he will not fire the aide because that senior environmental advisor technically works as Inhofe's staffer on a Senate committee instead of working directly on Inhofe's personal staff. Since then, Aravosis has outed the finance director of a Florida US Senate candidate who is running a pro-amendment TV spot. Aravosis has not yet outed any elected officials in this campaign -- but he's vowed on the site that he will do so if he gets sufficient info.
Posted by Ron Gunzburger - 07.12.04 | COMMENTS (257)