Newly Out CA Sen. Roy Ashburn May Be Leaving The Dark Side
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIx-UqAnj9dS2xMl5prlqAByL9-JAwHuXu4ztNXfzCjiD7wip8Ltr7SRqlUtvvTWu77xcGF5J9bKwnwWquEeFsFdD1z1WQuTDr5hjMirEhEppNfIU2k5b2OdhjZko0sqlE-nc8/s200/roy+ashburn.jpg)
Two months after announcing he was gay, state Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield discussed his sexuality on the Senate floor and cast votes on two separate gay-rights bills. Ashburn was the only Republican senator to vote in support of allowing openly gay people to serve in the military, but he also voted against a bill that could remove a political obstacle to proposals to legalize same-sex marriage. Ashburn then took the unusual step of publicly explaining his votes on the Senate floor. "I would not have been speaking on a measure dealing with sexual orientation ever prior to the events that have transpired in my life over the last three months,’’ Ashburn told his colleagues. "However, I am no longer willing or able to remain silent on issues that affect sexual orientation and the rights of individuals. And so I am doing something that is quite different and foreign to me, and it’s highly emotional.’’The resolution supporting the repeal of DADT passed easily. Ashburn's LGBT rights track record was previously a big fat gay goose egg. He will be term-limited out of office this year.
Labels: California, DADT, outing, Roy Ashburn