Another Anti-Gay Politician Comes Out As Gay
Posted: Fri Mar 06, 2020 12:55 am
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/aaron-sc ... mg00000054
Former Rep. Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) opened up about his sexuality on Instagram Thursday, confirming in a lengthy post that he is gay.
During his time in office, Schock opposed marriage equality and the 2011 repeal of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which prohibited gay and lesbian people from serving openly in the U.S. military. He also voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which expanded the 1969 federal hate crime law to include victims targeted because of their sexuality and gender identity and was signed into law in 2009.
Though Schock said via his Instagram post that he’d “support LGBTQ rights in every way I could” if he were active in Congress today, he didn’t formally rescind any of his previous stances on queer issues.
“I realize that some of my political positions run very much counter to the mainstream of the LGBTQ movement, and I respect them for those differences,” Schock wrote Thursday. “I hope people will allow for me the same.”