Hypocritical, homophobic US Senator resigns

IDAHO Republican senator Larry Craig, darling of the America’s religious Right, has resigned following his arrest and subsequent conviction for soliciting sex from an undercover police officer in an airport bathroom

Craig’s resignation completed a stunning downfall that began last Monday with the disclosure that he pleaded guilty to a reduced charge after his arrest during an undercover police vice operation in an airport men’s room in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Although leading members of his own party had called for him to step down, Craig steadfastly resisted resigning for days, contending he had done nothing wrong and that his only mistake was pleading guilty on August 1 to a misdemeanor charge.

Craig, who denounced President Bill Clinton as “a nasty, bad, naughty boy” over his affair with Monica Lewinski, was arrested on June 11 in a men’s room at the Minneapolis airport. The arresting officer, Sergeant Dave Karsnia, said in his report that the restroom is a known location for homosexual activity.

“I am not gay. I never have been gay,” Craig said after a news conference on Tuesday. In recent years, Craig’s voting record has earned him top ratings from social conservative groups such as the American Family Association, Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council.

He has supported a federal constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, telling his colleagues that it was “important for us to stand up now and protect traditional marriage, which is under attack by a few unelected judges and litigious activists.”

In 1996, Craig also voted in favour of the Defence of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to same-sex marriages and prevents states from being forced to recognize the marriages of gay and lesbian couples legally performed in other states.

Craig has also opposed expanding the federal hate crimes law to cover offenses motivated by anti-gay bias and, in 1996, voted against a bill that would have outlawed employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, which failed by a single vote in the Senate.