Former Republican Congressman Aaron Schock Comes Out As Gay
Former Republican Congressman Aaron Schock Comes Out As Gay
The ex-politician, who has a long track record of not supporting LGBTQ+ causes, resigned from congress in 2015 after controversy surrounding expensive spending habits.Â
Aaron Schock, the former congressman who fell from grace in 2015 amidst controversy about lavish spending habits while he was a member of the House of Representatives, just publicly came out as gay.
"I am gay. For those who know me and for many who only know of me, this will come as no surprise," Schock said in a very lengthy Instagram post about his decision to open up about his sexuality to the public. "For the past year, I have been working through a list of people who I felt should finally hear the news directly from me before I made a public statement. I wanted my mother, my father, my sisters, my brother, and my closest friends to hear it from me first."
He continued:Â
"The fact that I am gay is just one of those things in my life in need of explicit affirmation, to remove any doubt and to finally validate who I am as a person. In many ways I regret the time wasted in not having done so sooner."
While he does acknowledge that he would support LGBTQ+ rights if he were still active in the political scene today, it's still worth noting that during his career, when he actually did have power, Schock often voted against many LGBTQ+ causes. While in Congress, he supported the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) (the federal law that defined marriage as being between one man and one woman) and opposed repealing "Don’t Ask Don’t Tell." And people on Twitter were quick to remind others of that.Â
\u201cSo Aaron Schock has finally come out. Good for him. That's great.\n\nIn his coming-out note, he doesn't say sorry for supporting efforts to stop same-sex marriage or his votes against repealing DADT or enacting hate crime laws. \n\nHe does say he'd support LGBTQ rights today.\u201d— David Mack (@David Mack) 1583426214
\u201cAaron Schock wrote a long post about him coming out as gay and how worried he was telling his family and friends and whatever, but failed to even apologize to the LGBTQ community for the hatred he displayed towards us for MANY years. So he can fuck all the way off \ud83e\udd37\ud83c\udffb\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u201d— david (@david) 1583426820
\u201cReminder that if prosecutors hadn\u2019t completely botched the case, Aaron Schock would likely be in prison for using your taxpayer money to pay for massages and Katy Perry tickets. https://t.co/h7vs0fiZPF\u201d— Scott Bixby (@Scott Bixby) 1583426288
None— jared \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25 (@jared \u2764\ufe0f\u200d\ud83d\udd25) 1583430089
"This journey has taught me a valuable lesson," Schock concludes towards the end of his coming-out post. "Whether you are gay or straight, it's never too late to be authentic and true to yourself."
