Congressman Aaron Schock has faced gay rumors ever since he first took office in 2009. Reuters
The Republican Party's resident pretty boy is facing several loaded statements from journalist Itay Hod regarding his sexuality.
Aaron Schock is the representive for Illinois' 18th congressional district. He is also the celebrated face of the new generation of Republican party leaders, wooing people of all backgrounds with his buff body, handsome features and quirky fashion sense -- Who can forget that pink-checkered shirt and torquoise belt combo from summer 2010?
Questions about his sexuality aside, Schock has continually supported anti-LGBT legislation. He has also denied allegations that he is gay, a claim that Itay Hod directly challenged in a post to his Facebook account on Friday.
In the post, Hod expresses his frustraion over closeted anti-LGBT politicians. He also calls out the media for failing to call the politicians out for their double standards, specifically alluding to Schock in his post:
“People always say, ‘No one has the right to out anyone,’ that coming out is a private matter," he wrote. "I disagree. As you can imagine, not a very popular opinion. But bear with me.”
“Here’s a hypothetical,” he continued. “What if you know a certain GOP congressman, let’s just say from Illinois, is gay? And you know this because one of your friends, a journalist for a reputable network, told you in no uncertain terms that he caught that GOP congressman and his male roommate in the shower…together?”
Hod -- who is also gay -- added that TMZ often has reported of Schock "trolling" gay bars and that the politician's sexuality is known among certain groups. Schock’s office hasn't yet commented on the allegations. But Gawker reports that following the story's release, Schock's Instagram account was changed to private.
people always say, no one has the right to out anyone. that coming out is a private matter. i disagree. as you can imagine, not a very popular opinion. but bear with me.
here's a hypothetical: what if you know a certain GOP congressman, let's just say from Illinois, is gay... and you know this because one of your friends, a journalist for a reputable network, told you in no uncertain terms that he caught that GOP congressman and his male roommate in the shower... together. now they could have been good friends just trying to conserve water. but there's more. what if this congressman has also been caught by tmz cameras trolling gay bars. now what if you know that this very same guy, the darling of the gop, has also voted against repeal of don't ask don't tell, opposed the repeal of doma, is against gay marriage; and for the federal marriage amendment, which would add language to the us constitution banning gay marriage and would likely strike down every gay rights law and ordinance in the country?
Are we still not allowed to out him?
let me ask another question... doesn't the media have an OBLIGATION to expose his hypocrisy? if he had done something so hypocritical and he wasn't gay, wouldn't we demand journalists do their job? but they can't... because we won't let them. you're not allowed to out ANYONE, we tell them.
we've created a situation where even though news organizations know this guy is gay, they can't report it because he hasn't said so on twitter.
if we keep saying that being gay is genetic; ergo, it's no different than having blue eyes or blonde hair... than why are not allowed to mention it? why do we need anyone's consent to talk about their sexuality? are we not allowed to say someone has blue eyes until they post a fb message telling us they are in fact blue?
we've been so effective at convincing everyone that outing people is a crime against humanity, that we've made it impossible for any network or news organization to talk about this "hypothetical" gay republican congressman and his hypocritical vote against gay rights. they won't touch it for fear of retribution from GLAAD or HRC. (in fact when my friend's network interviewed said hypothetical republican, he talked about wanting to find a nice woman to marry... and the network aired it... knowing it was a lie...
so, forgive me if I don't subscribe to the notion that you're not allowed to out anyone... in fact in some cases, i'd celebrate it. but I'm crazy that way.
