Yesterday, Idaho Senator Larry Craig announced he would NOT resign his seat as promised.His decision was made on the same day that a Minnesota judge decided NOT to throw out Craig's guilty plea to the misdemeanor crime of soliciting sex in a men's room at the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport.
The news that Craig broke his promise to the people of Idaho and his Senate colleagues was met with disbelief and indignation:
"He gave us his word that he would resign," said Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev., who's in charge of the GOP's 2008 Senate election fundraising. "I'm calling on Senator Craig to keep his word. If he loves his party, and he loves the Senate, the honorable thing to do is to resign."If Senator Ensign feels betrayed by Craig's brazen disregard to those he promised to honor and respect, think how his wife might feel!
A person like Craig who has spent his whole life living a lie must have no conscience -- no guilt -- about saying one thing and doing another. He has been rationalizing and justifying his betrayal of his marriage vows and his oath of office -- both of which required him to make a promise of duty and honor.
Craig's refusal to tell the truth about his sexuality not only hurts his family, it hurts the entire LGBTQ Community as we struggle for legal rights, protections and benefits for our families.
The Larry Craig fiasco just makes it that much harder for us to convince elected officials that LGBTQ people deserve legal protections.
How can the LGBTQ Community justify our demands to be treated with dignity and respect when people like Craig continue to sneak around, cheating and lying?
October 11, is National Coming Out Day.
On that day Rainbow Law will be in Jackson Mississippi -- at OUToberfest -- speaking about the need to protect the legal rights of LGBTQ families.
If you are unable to join us in Mississippi, we hope you will celebrate that day by telling the truth about your life to at least one person who does not already know.
