Original subtitles

All right.

The date is 6/11/07 at 12:28 hours.

You have the right to remain silent.

Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.

Do you understand each of these rights as I explained them to you?

- I do. - Do you wish to talk to us at this time?

I do.

So let's start from the beginning. You went in the bathroom.

I went in the bathroom. I got in a stall, sat down.

Your foot came towards mine, mine came towards yours.

Was that natural? I don't know.

Did we bump? Yes, I think we did.

The next thing I knew,

under the bathroom divider

comes a card that says "Police."

- What about your hand? - What about my hand?

I could see the gold wedding ring. I could see that.

Have you been successful in these bathrooms here before?

No, absolutely not.

I don't seek activity in bathrooms.

You're not being truthful to me. I'm kind of disappointed

in you, Senator. I'm real disappointed right now.

Sir, we deal with people that lie to us every day.

- Gentlemen, so do I. - I'm sure you do.

I've never had to bring anybody to jail

because everybody's been truthful to me.

I don't want you to take me to jail.

I'm not gonna take you to jail

as long as you're being cooperative. People vote for you.

I'm a respectable person and I don't do these kinds of--

Where's your respect right now though?

I-I-- I am not gay. I don't do these kinds of things.

- I saw-- - I don't do those things.

AT ITS FUNDAMENTAL CORE, AT ITS BASE,

IT IS SO PROFOUNDLY UNHEALTHY.

BECAUSE IT GOES BACK TO THAT SIMPLE MANIFESTATION,

THAT SIMPLE SHAKESPEAREAN QUOTE:

"UNTO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE."

YOU HAVE TO BE TRUE TO YOURSELF.

AND THEN, GOD WILLING, TRUE TO YOUR LOVED ONES,

TO YOUR COMMUNITY, TO YOUR PUBLIC.

...turning out at Washington, DC, where the report

of the arrest of Senator Larry Craig

is generating a massive media frenzy.

Breaking tonight, a Republican senator busted by police.

Craig's arrest was first reported about 24 hours or so ago.

A day later "The Idaho Statesman"

published the story it had been holding.

Republican Senator Larry Craig from Idaho

again will be having a news conference in 45 minutes.

Thank you all very much for coming out today.

First, please let me apologize

to my family, friends and staff

and fellow Idahoans for the cloud placed over Idaho.

Senator, what happened in Minneapolis?

Hey, what if you are gay?

Come out of the closet.

It's all right, man. Come on, Larry. Be gay!

I THINK IT'S VERY SAD.

THIS IS SOMEBODY WHO HAS LIVED IN THE CLOSET HIS WHOLE LIFE,

HAS PROBABLY CHEATED ON HIS WIFE ANY NUMBER OF TIMES.

IT'S A TWISTED KIND OF

PSYCHOLOGICAL THING THAT HAPPENS.

WHEN YOU'RE IN THE CLOSET AND LIVING A DOUBLE LIFE,

IT MAKES YOU DO CRAZY THINGS.

AND FOR A UNITED STATES SENATOR

TO BE SOLICITING SEX IN A PUBLIC RESTROOM

IS A CRAZY THING.

TO UNDERSTAND HIS STORY AND ALL OF THESE STORIES,

YOU HAVE TO UNDERSTAND WHERE THE CULTURE WAS.

IN 1955, MY NEWSPAPER REPORTED

ON A GAY SEX SCANDAL

INVOLVING ALLEGEDLY UNDERAGE MEN

AND POWERFUL PEOPLE IN BOISE.

AMONG THE HEADLINES ON OUR EDITORIAL PAGE

WAS ONE THAT READ "CRUSH THE MONSTER,"

THE MONSTER BEING HOMOSEXUAL PERVERSITY.

THAT WAS 1955. LARRY CRAIG WAS 10 YEARS OLD.

AND I IMAGINE HIM THINKING THAT

THAT WAS AN ABJECT LESSON THAT HE NEEDED TO HEED,

THAT HE COULDN'T ASPIRE TO BE A UNITED STATES SENATOR

AND BE GAY AT THE SAME TIME.

EVERY TIME HE WAS UP FOR ELECTION,

THE QUESTION WAS RAISED--

WILL SOMEONE RAISE THE ISSUE?

Good evening. The Capitol Hill investigation

of sex and drugs which had existed mainly

in the congressional rumor mill

today took on the attributes of a serious and spreading scandal.

The FBI formed a special squad

to investigate allegations of homosexual activity

between congressmen and teenage pages.

One congressman came forward after rumors surfaced

that he was involved in the case.

I have always been aggressive and upfront with what I believe in.

And when I have people telling me

that a whole series of false accusations

are made against my character,

frankly, it makes me mad as hell.

MANY OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE GAY

WHO ARE IN PUBLIC SERVICE SEEM TO THINK

THAT THEY'RE IMMUNE FROM BEING EXPOSED.

AND THEY GO OUT. THEY GO TO BARS.

THEY GO TO CLUBS. THEY EVEN GO TO BATHHOUSES.

WHEN I WAS REALLY YOUNG IN D.C. BACK IN THE '80s,

ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES TO GO BACK THEN

WAS "THE FOLLIES."

THERE WERE A NUMBER OF MEN I SAW THERE FROM TIME TO TIME

AND HE WAS ONE OF THOSE.

HE HAD TAKEN NOTICE OF ME

AND THEN HE SAID, "LET'S GO SOMEWHERE ELSE"

AND I PROCEEDED TO FOLLOW HIM

TO HIS HOUSE ON CAPITOL HILL.

THERE WERE PICTURES OF FAMILY AROUND

AND A CARD THAT WAS ADDRESSED TO SUZANNE CRAIG.

WE THEN WOUND UP PERFORMING ORAL SEX ON EACH OTHER

AND THEN HE WANTED TO FUCK ME.

ONCE HE HAD COME,

IT WAS EVERYTHING TO GET ME BACK OUT OF THERE.

HE GRABBED ME BY THE SHOULDER AND VERY BOLDLY SAID,

"REMEMBER, YOU NEVER SAW ME.

YOU'VE NEVER BEEN HERE."

AND HE REACHED INTO HIS POCKET,

TOOK OUT A $20 BILL,

SHOVED IT IN MY BACK POCKET WITH ONE FINGER

AND SAID, "JUST REMEMBER,

I CAN BUY AND SELL YOUR ASS 1,000 TIMES."

Let me be clear: I am not gay.

I never have been gay.

IT'S VERY OFTEN THOSE SELF-HATING GAY PEOPLE WHO,

IN THE CLOSET, ARE THE MOST VICIOUS

TOWARDS OTHER GAYS AND LESBIANS

AS A WAY TO KIND OF DEFLECT ATTENTION

FROM THEIR OWN ORIENTATION.

THERE IS NOT ONE CIVIL RIGHTS LAW

AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL THAT EXISTS

TO PROTECT GAY, LESBIAN, BISEXUAL

OR TRANSGENDER PEOPLE.

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOT ONE LAW.

THE FACT THAT SENATOR CRAIG AND THOSE LIKE HIM

CAN ENGAGE IN HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY ONE MINUTE

AND THEN TRY TO WRITE US OUT OF EXISTENCE THE NEXT--

THERE IS NO PUNISHMENT HARSH ENOUGH AS FAR AS I'M CONCERNED.

He was a powerful force on senate committees,

a solid family-values conservative.

The American people already know

that Bill Clinton is a bad boy,

a naughty boy. I'm going to speak out

for the citizens of my state who,

in the majority, think that Bill Clinton

is probably even a nasty bad naughty boy.

But in October 2006,

eight months before the senator's arrest in Minneapolis,

a gay activist named Michael Rogers

who makes it his business to out conservative politicians

wrote in his blog that he'd interviewed several men

who'd claimed to have had sex with Senator Larry Craig.

IN OCTOBER OF '06 I OUTED LARRY CRAIG.

I KNOW SOMEBODY WHO HAD SEX WITH LARRY CRAIG IN A RESTROOM AT UNION STATION.

THAT, TO ME, IS THE CRUX OF THE CASE RIGHT THERE.

RIGHT NOW I HAVE A NUMBER OF OPEN FILES

OF FOLKS THAT I'M ACTIVELY LOOKING AT,

FROM A U.S. CABINET OFFICIAL

TO OFFICES OF SOME PRETTY ANTIGAY MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

SO I'M HERE. I'M GETTING READY

TO GO ON "HANNITY & COLMES" TONIGHT AT 9:00.

DAVID'S WITH ME, HELPING ME OUT ON SOME OF MY TALKING POINTS.

- SAY HI, DAVID. - HELLO.

CAN'T LET THE RIGHT WING BE THE ONLY ONES WITH THE FLAG.

I ACTUALLY ONCE HAD SOMEBODY ASK ME ON FOX NEWS,

"ARE YOU SURE YOU WANT TO WEAR THAT FLAG?" "YEAH, I AM."

SO, DAVID, WHY DON'T YOU FIRE ME A FEW QUESTIONS

LIKE HOW HANNITY'S GOING TO DO THAT, YOU KNOW?

"MIKE, HOW IS WHAT YOU'RE DOING DIFFERENT THAN McCARTHYISM?"

- THIS IS McCARTHYISM!" - FIRST OF ALL,

SEAN, McCARTHY WAS A LIAR.

McCARTHY PUT OUT FALSE INFORMATION

- ABOUT AMERICANS. - OH NO!

THAT'S JUST THE SAUCE. I'M GONNA HAVE TO CUT YOU OFF RIGHT THERE.

- MIKE-- MIKE-- MIKE-- - SEAN-- SEAN-- SEAN--

- WE'RE OUTTA TIME. - THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS.

YOUR MOUTH WILL OPEN, BUT NOTHING WILL COME OUT OF IT.

Breaking news tonight. Fox News has confirmed

that Senator Larry Craig may be reconsidering his decision to resign.

Joining us now with reaction to this story

is blogger Mike Rogers, who called for an investigation

into Craig last year. All right, from the beginning.

HI, SEAN, AND GOOD EVENING. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME ON.

Larry Craig is a hypocrite.

He is an antigay closeted individual who has sex with other men.

I read what you had and apparently this tape of this one guy

that "The Idaho Statesman" followed up on.

- It was a-- wait, hang on a second. - It's not one guy, Sean.

It was an anonymous source-- why doesn't the guy go on the record?

Sean, it's not one guy. It's now three or four.

THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DOUBT IN MY MIND.

I HAVE HEARD PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS REPEATED TO ME FROM VARIOUS INDIVIDUALS.

I don't know about Senator Craig. I'm going to be honest,

- I don't have the details. There is suspicion-- - I DO, I DO.

Are there others in the same category as Larry Craig

who you think whose names will be forthcoming

because of your work?

ABSOLUTELY. THERE ARE NAMES OF THE FOLKS IN CONGRESS

IN HIGH POSITIONS OF POWER WHO ARE LEADING A SECRET DOUBLE LIFE.

And what I would say to Sean is, Sean, where do you stand with Larry Craig?

And will you stand in the same position

if other two-lived hypocrites

ARE EXPOSED? BECAUSE I CAN ASSURE YOU

THAT THERE IS NO SHORTAGE.

MY FIRST VERY BIG CASE WAS THIS CONGRESSMAN

IN VIRGINIA BY THE NAME OF ED SCHROCK.

A MONTH LATER, I GOT A TIP

THAT THERE WAS A CONGRESSMAN WHO WAS GAY

AND THAT HE WAS USING AN INTERACTIVE PHONE DATING SERVICE

TO FIND WHAT MAY BE KNOWN AS INSTA-SEX,

OR, YOU KNOW, TO HOOK UP WITH SOMEBODY FOR SEX.

AND THE FIRST THING I SAID TO THE PERSON WAS, "THIS IS INSANE.

I CAN'T PUT UP THAT A CONGRESSMAN

IS USING AN INTERACTIVE PHONE SERVICE WITHOUT PROOF.

I MEAN, THAT'S A HELL OF A CHARGE TO LEVY."

AND HE SAYS, "I HAVE SEVERAL RECORDINGS OF THE CONGRESSMAN

GOING ON THE PHONE LINE TO MEET A MAN FOR SEX.

AND THEY'RE VERY EXPLICIT." AND I WAS LIKE, WOW!

SO I TOOK THE RECORDINGS AND WENT AHEAD

AND REPORTED ON ED SCHROCK ON MY BLOG.

A case of the moral hunter becoming the moral hunted.

Congressman Edward Schrock, a Virginia Republican

who once co-sponsored a bill to ban same-sex marriage,

dropped out of his bid for re-election last month.

HE NEVER ADMITTED THAT THEY WERE HIM,

BUT HE RESIGNED FROM HIS RE-ELECTION.

THERE IT IS.

I AM GOING TO TELL PEOPLE WHO THESE HORRIBLE TRAITORS ARE.

AND THEY ARE TRAITORS TO THEIR PEOPLE. I BELIEVE THAT.

AND I FELT THAT IT WAS TIME

FOR ME TO START REPORTING THAT AS HYPOCRISY.

NOT OUTING PEOPLE WHO ARE GAY,

BUT REPORTING ON INDIVIDUALS

WHO ARE WORKING AGAINST THE COMMUNITY

THAT THEY THEN EXPECT TO PROTECT THEM.

BE WAITING IN FRONT OF 1600 BROADWAY. THAT'S PERFECT.

MICHAEL HAS DECIDED THAT THEY HAVE BEEN

CHASING US FOR YEARS.

AND WHAT MICHAEL REPRESENTS IS, "WE'RE GONNA CHASE BACK."

NOW THAT UPSETS THE RULES

BECAUSE EVERYONE KNOWS THE HOUNDS CHASE THE FOXES.

WELL, THIS FOX IS CHASING THE HOUNDS.

AND IT'S GOT THEM ALL BENT OUT OF SHAPE.

AND I SAY MORE POWER TO HIM.

I THINK OUTING

IS A...

FUNDAMENTALLY WRONG

AND DISHONEST THING TO DO.

NO ONE CAN EVER KNOW OR UNDERSTAND

THE PERSONAL JOURNEY THAT AN INDIVIDUAL TAKES

TO ACCEPTING THE FACT THAT THEY ARE GAY OR LESBIAN.

I JUST FEEL SYMPATHY WHEN THEY ARE EXPOSED THAT WAY.

I THINK EVERY GAY PERSON KNOWS WHAT IT'S LIKE

TO HAVE YOUR PRIVACY RIPPED APART.

THERE IS A RIGHT TO PRIVACY, BUT NOT A RIGHT TO HYPOCRISY.

IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE LAW

BE SUBJECT TO THE LAW.

PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT SUBJECT TO LAWS WILL MAKE HARSH LAWS

BECAUSE THEY DON'T HAVE TO LIVE WITH THEM.

HAVING THE PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE LAW

BE FULLY COVERED BY THE LAW

IS A SAFEGUARD AGAINST UNFAIRNESS.

THAT'S A FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE ON WHICH OUR DEMOCRACY IS IN PART BUILT

THAT GAY PEOPLE WHO SUPPORT HOMOPHOBIA ARE VIOLATING.

And now to Campaign 2006.

He's been the state's attorney general and education commissioner and on Tuesday,

Charlie Crist hopes to be elected governor.

Charlie Crist--

50, single, no kids, doesn't own a home,

wants to live in the governor's mansion.

I'm a consistent conservative.

I can continue to stand for the things that I believe in.

At a stop in Miami, the tone was urgent.

I need you to get it out there. I need your vote.

I need your heart. I need your passion.

Get out there, get it done.

Viva Crist. Let's win. God bless you.

I believe that marriage is a sacred relationship

between a man and a woman.

I've always felt that way and I still believe that now.

Marriage is a relationship like my mother and father had,

like I had before I got divorced.

It is one of those unique institutions--

not only in America, but across the world--

where a man and a woman commit to one another.

Please leave a message.

HI, BRUCE. THIS IS BOB NORMAN WITH "NEW TIMES."

I AM A JOURNALIST WHO WORKS IN THE ALTERNATIVE REALM.

I DO THE STORIES THAT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA DOESN'T DO.

I HAD WRITTEN ABOUT MARK FOLEY IN 2003.

THAT HAD GOTTEN A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF ATTENTION.

THAT WAS WHAT LED TO MY INVOLVEMENT WITH CRIST

IN TERMS OF WRITING ABOUT CRIST.

A SOURCE CONTACTED ME VIA EMAIL.

THIS SOURCE WAS AT A DINNER PARTY

AT A MULTIMILLION DOLLAR MANSION

IN FORT LAUDERDALE.

AND HE WAS WITH A YOUNG STAFFER NAMED JASON WETHERINGTON.

JASON WAS A YOUNG REPUBLICAN STAFFER

WORKING FOR KATHERINE HARRIS,

THE FAMOUS MASCARA'D QUEEN OF THE 2000 ELECTION.

JASON SAID THAT HE HAD MET CHARLIE CRIST,

HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM-- A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM,

AND HE EXPECTED AFTER CRIST WON THE ELECTION,

HE WOULD GET AN APPOINTMENT TO CRIST'S ADMINISTRATION

AND THAT HE HAD HOPED TO CONTINUE THE RELATIONSHIP.

I FELT THAT THIS SOURCE WAS COMPLETELY EARNEST

AND HONEST. SO I DECIDED I WAS GOING TO GO SEE JASON WETHERINGTON.

HE WAS VERY, VERY UNCOMFORTABLE WITH THE LINE OF QUESTIONING.

THAT WAS OBVIOUS. HE INITIALLY SAID

THAT HE HADN'T SAID THAT AT THE DINNER PARTY.

THEN HE HEDGED THAT A BIT.

"WELL, YOU KNOW, I MIGHT HAVE BEEN DRINKING." THAT KIND OF THING.

HE WAS EXTREMELY UPSET

AND JUST SAID, "DO WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO."

I know you've addressed this question

once or twice before-- the whisper campaign by your opponents

about whether or not you're gay.

Now I don't care whether you are or not--

It's fine.

AND THEN I GOT ANOTHER PHONE CALL.

IT WAS FROM ANOTHER FRIEND OF JASON WETHERINGTON'S.

THERE WAS A DINNER PARTY THAT WAS HELD AT MY HOME

AND JASON WAS AT THE PARTY.

HE BEGAN TO ALLUDE THAT THERE WAS A RELATIONSHIP

BETWEEN CRIST AND HIM AND THAT IT WAS PHYSICAL.

NOW I'VE GOT TWO SOURCES

WHO ARE SAYING THE EXACT SAME THING

WHO DON'T KNOW EACH OTHER.

IT WAS REVEALED THAT NIGHT

THAT HE-- THAT CRIST DID HAVE A PARTNER

OR THERE WAS ANOTHER MAN IN HIS LIFE.

IT WAS BRUCE CARLTON JORDAN.

HE WAS FRIENDS WITH JAY VASS,

A VETERAN REPUBLICAN PILOT

AND JAY VASS'S GIRLFRIEND DEE DEE HALL.

...the sworn statement you give

will be the truth, the whole truth

- and nothing but the truth, so help you God? - Yes.

Do you know a gentleman by the name of Bruce Jordan?

Yes, I do.

Did he tell you that he was gay?

Yes. He brought up the fact

that he was in a relationship...

that he was involved with Charlie.

I was like, "Okay." He just stated his first name.

And he said, "Maybe you've heard of him." He said, "It's Charlie Crist."

I CONTACTED CHARLIE ON THE PHONE

AND ASKED HIM DIRECTLY ABOUT JASON WETHERINGTON

AND, UH...

AND BRUCE CARLTON JORDAN.

CHARLIE VERY SMOOTHLY DENIED THAT HE KNEW

OR REMEMBERED KNOWING EITHER ONE OF THESE PEOPLE.

The Governor-elect of the State of Florida-- Charlie Crist!

Nearly 4,000 children are waiting to be adopted

in Florida, but the state is still turning away couples looking to adopt.

Why? Because they're gay.

Frank Gill is a gay foster parent

who wants to make it permanent.

Gill and his partner have been foster parents for four years

to these two boys, now four and eight years old.

They were neglected and abandoned by their birth parents.

Florida's the only state in the country that bans gay adoption.

Governor Charlie Crist has supported the prohibition on gay adoption

and tells "The Herald" he has "no second thoughts" on that.

WELCOME BACK. I'M MICHELANGELO SIGNORILE

ON SIRIUS OUTQ 109.

MIKE ROGERS, THE MOST FEARED MAN ON CAPITOL HILL

ACCORDING TO "THE WASHINGTON POST,"

IS NOW HERE IN THE STUDIO.

HE IS THE MAN WHO GOT THE BALL ROLLING

ON LARRY CRAIG THE SENATOR FROM IDAHO.

- WELCOME TO THE SHOW. - I HEARD YOU'RE GAY.

ARE YOU GONNA OUT ME NOW?

THAT'S WHAT THEY SAY.

THIS IS ALWAYS A QUESTION THAT PEOPLE PUT OUT THERE:

ARE YOU ONLY FOCUSED ON REPUBLICANS

OR ARE THERE CLOSETED DEMOCRATS DOING DAMAGE

AND HOW COME THEY'RE NOT BEING EXPOSED?

WHAT I TELL FOLKS IS THE REASON THAT 90% OF THE CASES OR SO

ARE REPUBLICANS SAYS A LOT MORE

ABOUT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY THAN IT DOES MY WORK.

AND WHAT WE'RE SHOWING IS IT'S THE CLOSET.

IT'S NOT HOMOSEXUALITY.

IT'S THE CLOSET THAT BREEDS THAT KIND OF--

- AND THE CLOSET OF HYPOCRISY. - ABSOLUTELY.

AND IT HAS GIVEN A LOT OF CREDIBILITY TO THE WORK YOU BEGAN A DECADE AGO.

I WENT TO JOURNALISM SCHOOL,

LEFT, THOUGHT I WAS GONNA GET THIS GREAT SERIOUS NEWS JOB,

AND WOUND UP WORKING FOR A P.R. FIRM

THAT SPECIALIZED IN GOSSIP.

AND IT WAS IN THAT WORLD, IN THE '80s,

THAT I SAW HOW THE GOSSIP WORLD

WOULD GLAMORIZE HETEROSEXUALITY,

BUT ANYTHING ABOUT ANY CELEBRITY

WHO WAS SECRETLY GAY, WE WOULD HELP THEM COVER.

IT WAS THE ONE AREA WHERE THEY DIDN'T DEMAND THE TRUTH.

EVERYWHERE ELSE, THEY WANTED TO KNOW WHO WAS DATING WHO,

BUT WHEN IT CAME TO GAY CELEBRITIES,

IT WAS ACCEPTED AND UNDERSTOOD THAT YOU COVERED FOR THEM

AND YOU ACTUALLY PUT OUT LIES.

I STARTED TO WRITE A COLUMN CALLED "GOSSIP WATCH."

IT WAS A WATCH OF THE GOSSIP COLUMNS.

IT WAS A LOOK AT HOW THE GOSSIP COLUMNS,

WHICH ARE READ BY MORE PEOPLE

THAN ANY OTHER FORUM IN THE MEDIA,

ARE COMPLETELY CONSTRUCTED AND CREATED

TO GLAMORIZE HETEROSEXUALITY

AND KEEP HOMOSEXUALITY INVISIBLE.

IN 1990 MALCOLM FORBES,

THE MULTIMILLIONAIRE PUBLISHER OF "FORBES" MAGAZINE,

DIED AND THE MEDIA IMMEDIATELY,

IN ALL OF HIS OBITUARIES,

HELD HIM UP AS A VERY SUCCESSFUL CAPITALIST

WHO WAS DATING ELIZABETH TAYLOR FOR YEARS.

AND YET, THEY LEFT OUT THE FACT THAT HE WAS GAY.

IT TOOK YEARS, IN FACT,

FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES"

TO FINALLY SAY THAT MALCOLM FORBES WAS GAY.

I FELT THAT THE HISTORICAL RECORD

HAD TO BE CORRECTED IMMEDIATELY.

Michelangelo Signorile is his name.

He's the one who outed Malcolm Forbes after his death,

writing that Forbes,

the very symbol of establishment capitalism,

secretly was gay.

I'm certainly not doing anything wrong. I think in 20 years from now,

we're gonna look back and say, "What the hell was the big deal about?"

WELCOME BACK. 11 MINUTES BEFORE THE HOUR,

I'M MICHELANGELO SIGNORILE. I'M HERE WITH MIKE ROGERS

IN STUDIO AND WE'RE TAKING YOUR CALLS.

YOU'RE ON "THE MICHELANGELO SIGNORILE SHOW."

What happens when you guys expose

all of the closeted people in the conservative movement?

You get all the hypocrites out of there, what have you got left

but just the solid non-hypocritical festival of hate?

IT'S A FAIR QUESTION. MIKE, WHAT DO YOU THINK? THANKS FOR THAT, GREG.

IN MOST CASES WHEN SOMEBODY IS REPORTED ON, THEY BECOME A PRO-GAY LEGISLATOR.

BUT "IS THERE A BACKLASH?" WHICH IS WHAT HE'S ASKING.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU LEAVE JUST THIS CORE OF HATE?

WELL, BARNEY FRANK PUTS IT BEST:

"THE REASON PEOPLE HATE GAY PEOPLE IS BECAUSE THEIR LEADERS TELL THEM TO."

I THINK THAT EACH ONE OF THESE OUTINGS

PUTS A LITTLE CHINK IN THE ARMOR

OF THE ANTI-GAY SO-CALLED "FAMILY VALUES" MOVEMENT.

I, RONALD REAGAN, DO SOLEMNLY SWEAR...

"THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE

THE OFFICE OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES."

...THAT I WILL FAITHFULLY EXECUTE THE OFFICE

OF PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.

THE ELECTION OF RONALD REAGAN BROUGHT US

A FAIRLY LARGE NUMBER

OF HIGH-PLACED BUT CLOSETED GAY MEN

IN THE REPUBLICAN ADMINISTRATION

WHO FAILED TO ADEQUATELY ADDRESS

THE EPIDEMIC OF AIDS.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

WOULD NOT EVEN SAY THE WORD "AIDS" PUBLICALLY

AS LATE AS 1987.

REAGAN HAD BEEN ELECTED

ON THIS FUNDAMENTALIST CONSERVATIVE ROLE IN AMERICA

LED BY THE NATIONAL CONSERVATIVE POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE.

THE PRESIDENT OF NCPAC WAS TERRY DOLAN!

TERRY IS DANCING AT FLAMINGO ON THE WEEKEND IN NEW YORK

AND PROPPING UP

THE MOST RIGHT-WING HOMOPHOBES IN AMERICA BY DAY.

THIS IS A MAN WHO'S RAISING MONEY

TO KILL US-- TERRY DOLAN.

I WENT TO A COCKTAIL PARTY IN WASHINGTON AND THERE HE WAS.

I THREW A DRINK IN HIS FACE.

I SAID, "HOW DARE YOU COME TO A PARTY OF GAY PEOPLE

AFTER WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO US?!"

RICHARD KRAUSE-- THE HEAD OF THE N.I.H.,

IN CHARGE OF ALL THE INFECTIOUS DISEASES AT THE TIME OF ADVENT OF AIDS,

WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING

THAT WAS REQUIRED BY THE SITUATION, ANYTHING HEROIC,

SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS AFRAID HE'D SPEND HIS ENTIRE CAREER

TRYING NOT TO BE IDENTIFIED WITH US.

EVERYONE KNOWS RICHARD IS GAY. HE'S GOT PICTURES OF BOYFRIENDS ON HIS DRESSER AT HOME.

SO THAT CLOSET CAN KILL OTHER PEOPLE AND IT HAS.

BEFORE AIDS,

WE WERE CONCERNED WITH PRIVACY.

AFTER AIDS, THAT WAS COLLUSION WITH GENOCIDE--

BEING SILENT, BEING INVISIBLE--

PARTICULARLY IN AN ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIAL,

PARTICULARLY IN AN ELECTED OR APPOINTED OFFICIAL

WHOSE RESPONSIBILITY IT IS TO RESPOND TO THIS PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS--

AND THEY DIDN'T BECAUSE THEY WERE CLOSETED GAYS.

# COME ON ALONG AND LISTEN TO #

# THE LULLABY OF BROADWAY. #

ED KOCH WAS MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY

AND HE DIDN'T WANT TO LIFT A HAND TO HELP GAY PEOPLE.

HE WOULD NOT DO ANYTHING

THAT WAS REQUIRED BY THE SITUATION.

FUCK YOU.

SAN FRANCISCO'S AIDS ORGANIZATION

WAS GETTING MONEY FROM THEIR MAYOR IN HUGE AMOUNTS.

WE WEREN'T GETTING ANYTHING.

AND IT PISSED ME OFF MORE AND MORE AND MORE

BECAUSE WE ALL KNEW HE WAS GAY.

NOW ED KOCH HAD ALWAYS CONSISTENTLY IN HIS PUBLIC LIFE

REFUSED TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS SEXUALITY.

WHEN ED'S THIRD OR FOURTH TERM WAS COMING UP

I WAS ASKED THEN

BY PRESS PEOPLE TO ACKNOWLEDGE

THAT RICHARD NATHAN WAS ED'S FORMER LOVER.

AND SO I STONEWALLED THE PRESS DURING THAT PRIMARY RACE

'CAUSE I DIDN'T WANT TO BE THE VOICE THAT OUTED A CANDIDATE.

ABOUT '74 OR '75, WHEN HE WAS IN CONGRESS,

ED KOCH WAS PLANNING TO RUN FOR MAYOR

AND HE STARTED HAVING SUNDAY-NIGHT POTLUCK SUPPERS

AT HIS APARTMENT IN THE VILLAGE.

ONE NIGHT, RICHARD AND I WERE AT ED'S HOUSE

AND AS WE WERE DEPARTING, ED SAID, "OH, RICHARD, STAY."

AND RICHARD SAID, "NO, ED.I HAVE TO GO. I'LL CALL YOU LATER."

SO AS WE WERE WALKING ACROSS WASHINGTON SQUARE PARK,

I SAID, "WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?

YOU AND THE CONGRESSMAN?" AND HE SAID, "WE'RE HAVING A RELATIONSHIP."

AND I SAID, "YOU MEAN, LIKE A 'RELATIONSHIP'?"

AND HE SAID, "YEAH." AND I SAID, "WHY?

YOU'RE A NICE-LOOKING YOUNG MAN.

HE'S AN OLD AND NOT TERRIBLY ATTRACTIVE MAN."

AND HE SAID, "IT'S A REAL APHRODISIAC

WHEN YOU GET A CALL FROM CONGRESS SAYING,

'I'M COMING IN. LET'S HAVE DINNER FRIDAY NIGHT.'"

THE DAY ED KOCH WAS INAUGURATED, THERE WAS A PRIVATE PARTY.

WE WATCHED ED COME IN WITH BESS,

CLUTCHING THEIR PINKIES.

AND RICHARD SAID, "I'M OUT OF HERE.

IT'S BEEN MADE CLEAR TO ME THAT I HAVE TO LEAVE TOWN,

OR AT LEAST NOT BE IN THE PICTURE,

SO I'VE DECIDED TO MOVE TO CALIFORNIA."

ABOUT A YEAR OR TWO AFTER I GOT TO KNOW DICK,

HE SAID HE HAD SOMETHING HE WANTED ME TO KNOW.

OVER THE COURSE OF A COUPLE OF YEARS,

HE HAD BEEN LOVERS OF ED KOCH

AND AFTER THEY BROKE UP, ED HAD MADE IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR HIM TO WORK IN NEW YORK.

NO INSTANCE OF HOMOPHOBIA

HURT HIM MORE

THAN THE TREATMENT BY THE MAN HE WAS IN LOVE WITH.

I WAS AT A FUNDRAISING EVENT IN LOS ANGELES IN '81.

A MAN CAME UP TO ME AND SAID, "I'M DICK NATHAN."

THEN HE PROCEEDED TO TELL ME ABOUT HIS AFFAIR WITH ED KOCH

AND WHAT A PIG HE WAS, AND THAT HE WAS PREPARED FINALLY

TO COME AND ANNOUNCE PUBLICALLY THAT ED KOCH WAS GAY,

WHICH WAS WHAT WE NEEDED.

HE CAME TO NEW YORK.

AND, OH BOY, WE WERE BESIDE OURSELVES.

AND DICK NATHAN CAME AND SAID, "I'M SORRY, I CAN'T DO IT."

DICK WAS WORRIED ABOUT HIS SAFETY.

AND DICK DID FEEL THAT IF HE WENT PUBLIC,

HE WOULD SUFFER.

DICK WAS THREATENED, PHYSICALLY THREATENED,

AND FINANCIALLY. AND HE CAME AND HE WAS TERRIFIED

IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, LEAVING THE CITY.

I FIRST MET JIM McCRERY IN THE FALL OF 1975

AT THE SIGMA NU FRATERNITY HOUSE.

I KNEW FROM THE MOMENT WE MET THAT HE WAS INTERESTED.

AND IT WAS THE NEXT SUMMER DURING SUMMER SCHOOL

THAT IT BEGAN.

THE MOMENT I SPOKE TO GARY, I KNEW HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH,

BUT NONETHELESS, FOR HIS OWN PROTECTION

AND FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE MAGAZINE,

WE WANTED TO SOURCE IT AS THOUGH "THE NEW YORK TIMES" WAS DOING IT.

SO WE FOUND SEVERAL PEOPLE

WHO ALSO HAD SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH JIM McCRERY

WHO HAD SIGNED LEGAL AFFIDAVITS.

JIM IS SEVEN YEARS MY SENIOR.

HE WOULD JUST APPEAR AT THE FRATERNITY HOUSE

FROM TIME-- YOU KNOW, HIS ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE,

SO TO SPEAK, IN THE FALL.

JIM USED THE FRATERNITY HOUSE AS HIS GAY BAR.

HE WOULD FIND YOUNG MEN

WHO HE THOUGHT HE HAD A GOOD CHANCE

AT HAVING A SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH.

JIM WOULD COME INTO MY ROOM AT NIGHTTIME,

COME TOUCH ME A LITTLE INAPPROPRIATELY AT TIMES.

HE WAS MY FIRST SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP,

AS HE WAS A NUMBER OF MY FRATERNITY BROTHERS.

McCRERY WAS AMBITIOUS TO THE POINT

WHERE HE WOULD MAKE MORAL COMPROMISES.

BUT WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THAT MORAL COMPROMISING

IS ABOUT YOUR OWN IDENTITY?

THE JIM I HAD-- AND EVERYONE HAD ALWAYS KNOWN

HAD BEEN AN ATHEIST.

HE HAD GIVEN SPEECHES ABOUT HIS LACK OF BELIEF.

HE WAS A DEMOCRAT, VERY LIBERAL,

HAD NO PROBLEM

SAYING HIS OPINION

ON THE IMMORALITY OF THE SODOMY LAWS, THINGS LIKE THAT.

WHEN A GROUP OF BACKERS CAME TO HIM

AND DECIDED THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE THEIR CANDIDATE,

HE CHANGED HIS PARTY

AND THEN WENT DOWN AND JOINED THE CHURCH THAT HAD THE BIGGEST COLUMNS

FOR HIM TO HAVE HIS CAMPAIGN PICTURES TAKEN IN FRONT OF,

AND RAN AS A RIGHT-WING CHRISTIAN COALITION CANDIDATE.

HE BECAME A TOTALLY DIFFERENT PERSON.

I'm Johnette McCrery.

I believe my husband Jim is the kind of person

we need in Congress today.

He's good-hearted, but he's not soft-hearted.

He's sensitive without being foolish.

IN 1992,

JIM CAME TO MY HOUSE, SPENT THE NIGHT

AND WE HAD SEX.

WE NEVER DISCUSSED HIS POLITICAL PLATFORM

OR WHAT HE BELIEVED IN. WE JUST HAD SEX.

Bottom line, Jim's a good husband,

a good father and a good congressman.

He gets my vote.

Would you please give him yours on election day?

TO BE ABLE TO LIVE THIS KIND OF A LIE,

THIS HAS GONE ON NOW FOR 17, 18-- NO, 20! --20 YEARS.

THAT'S THE MAIN THING THAT ATTRACTED ME TO MITT ROMNEY

WAS HIS STRONG SENSE OF PERSONAL COMMITMENT

TO HIS WIFE, HIS FAMILY,

TO HIS VALUES. IT'S NOT SOMETHING HE JUST TALKS ABOUT.

IT'S SOMETHING HE LIVES.

THE CLOSEST THING TO A TURNING POINT

WAS WHEN I WENT TO THE GRAVE

OF A SIGMA NU BROTHER

THAT DIED OF AIDS.

JIM KNEW HIM WELL.

ONE OF MY BEST FRIENDS.

STANDING OVER THAT GRAVE, IT DID A LOT.

IT LET ME KNOW THAT I HAD TO DO IT.

I HAD TO DO IT.

THERE WAS SOME ATTENTION

IN THE NATIONAL MEDIA, VERY, VERY LITTLE ON A LOCAL LEVEL.

THE NON-GAY PRESS SAW IT AS SORT OF DISTASTEFUL.

THEY DIDN'T COVER GAY LIFE AT ALL,

EXCEPT MAYBE THE MOST DRAMATIC ELEMENTS OF IT.

IT WAS GARY

THAT REAPED ALL THE HAVOC FROM THIS.

HE WAS SHUNNED BY THE COMMUNITY.

HIS PARENTS RECEIVED

ALL SORTS OF HATE MAIL. AND JIM--

NOTHING HAPPENED TO JIM.

HE WAS ELEVATED EVEN HIGHER.

JIM IS RETIRING

FROM A GREAT CONGRESSIONAL CAREER--

THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF HONORS AND AWARDS.

HOW MANY OF THOSE WOULD HE HAVE GOTTEN

IF HE HAD BEEN TRUE TO HIMSELF?

WHAT I FEEL THAT I'M DOING IN THIS OUTING WORK,

IT'S NOT ABOUT ANYBODY WHO'S ALIVE TODAY.

IT'S ABOUT TOMORROW'S GENERATION

AND THE ONE AFTER AND THE ONE AFTER,

'CAUSE THIS HATE, THIS VITRIOL,

IT'S GENERATIONAL FOR THESE ANTI-GAY PEOPLE.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF THE GOOD ACTIVISTS--

IT IS ALL DRIVEN BY RAGE,

RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION. PEOPLE ARE SUFFERING AND DYING

BECAUSE SOME SELF-PROMOTING ASSHOLE IS TELLING A LIE.

ACTIVISM IS ABOUT ANGER.

ACTIVISM IS ABOUT RESPONDING

TO SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW IS WRONG

- AND YOU DON'T LIKE IT.

Sure.

We're here for the consideration of H.J.RES.106

proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States

relating to marriage as well as H.R.319...

DREIER'S VOTING IS A MATTER OF RECORD.

IT IS WITHOUT QUESTION

SOMEWHAT HOSTILE TO GAYS. AND, IN FACT,

HE IS A FRONTLINE MEMBER OF A POLITICAL PARTY

WHERE A CONSIDERABLE WING OF THAT POLITICAL PARTY

IS OPENLY HOSTILE TO GAYS.

DAVID DREIER OFFICIALLY STILL DENIES BEING GAY,

DESPITE LOTS OF EVIDENCE TO THE CONTRARY.

YOU COULD HEAR IN THE NEWSROOM, JUST OCCASIONALLY WHEN A STORY WOULD COME UP,

THAT DREIER WAS QUOTE--

WHAT I REALIZED BEFORE LONG, IT WAS CODE WORDS--

"CONFIRMED BACHELOR," "CONSERVATIVE BACHELOR," "DAPPER BACHELOR."

ONE OF THE BIG TIPS I GOT WAS, "CHECK OUT THE BOYFRIEND."

I'M LIKE, "WHO'S THE BOYFRIEND?"

"THE CHIEF OF STAFF." I'M LIKE, "OHH, THAT'S INTERESTING."

SO THEN WE INITIATED A WHOLE INVESTIGATION.

I GO DOWN TO THE CAPITAL AND I COPY EVERY TRAVEL RECORD

OF BRAD SMITH, WHO'S THE CHIEF OF STAFF,

AND DAVID DREIER, WHO'S THE CONGRESSMAN.

THEY SAID, "OH WELL, HE TRAVELS WITH HIM."

AND I'M LIKE, "WELL, THESE ARE DIFFERENT DATES...

ONE DAY APART ON ALL THE TRIPS."

IF THERE WAS A CONGRESSMAN

WHO TRAVELED WITH HIS CHIEF OF STAFF CONTINUOUSLY AROUND THE WORLD,

TRAVELING ONE DAY BEFORE OR ONE DAY AFTER,

THAT WOULD BE IN THE NEWSPAPER.

BUT BECAUSE HE'S SLEEPING WITH A MAN,

BECAUSE IT'S TWO DICKS INSTEAD OF ONE,

THAT'S THEIR PROBLEM.

WE'RE NOT ASKING DREIER WHAT POSITION HE LIKES,

HOW MANY LOVERS HE'S HAD, WHERE HE LIKES TO GET IT ON.

THESE AREN'T THE QUESTIONS WE WANT TO PUT TO DREIER.

THE QUESTIONS THAT SHOULD BE PUT TO DREIER ARE:

"THIS IS YOUR VOTING RECORD. THIS IS YOUR PARTY'S PLATFORM, ITS PLANK, ITS POSITIONS,

AND IT SEEMS TO RUN ABSOLUTELY CONTRADICTORY

TO THE WAY YOU'VE LIVED YOUR PERSONAL LIFE."

WHEN HE CAME ON MY PROGRAM DURING THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION,

I ASKED HIM STRAIGHT OUT.

There have been a lot of rumors that you yourself are gay.

And people feel it's hypocritical of you--

- --to not speak up in favor of same-sex marriage.

Are you saying you're heterosexual?

A STRAIGHT GUY, THERE'S NO WAY HE'LL ANSWER THAT QUESTION

WITH, "I'M NOT REALLY HERE TO TALK ABOUT THAT."

HE'S GONNA SAY, "YEAH, I'M STRAIGHT. SO WHAT?"

Would you think it's hypocritical

if a gay politician were voting against gay people?

YOU KNOW, I HAPPEN TO LIKE DAVID DREIER'S

POLITICAL AND POLICY WORK ON MANY FRONTS.

AND HE LOST OUT

IN BEING THE NEW REPUBLICAN LEADER

INSIDE A CAUCUS INSIDE THE REPUBLICAN COMMUNITY

BECAUSE OF THE GAY IDENTITY ISSUE.

Did you expect to get the job

that Roy Blunt got?

No, this is not something that I pursued.

I mean, yes, I was talked to about this.

And frankly, I said no, that I didn't want to do it.

Now who talked to you about it? Is this--

You know, I don't want to get into that, Charlie.

THE EVANGELICAL CONSERVATIVE WING OF THE PARTY

CAME IN AND SAID, "NOT FOR ONE MINUTE. NOT ON YOUR LIFE.

DAVID DREIER'S A CLOSETED GAY. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM FOR US.

AND IT'S NOT GONNA HAPPEN."

I THINK IT WAS A REAL SAD THING

THAT THE COUNTRY LOST SOMEONE LIKE DAVID DREIER

MOVING INTO REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP OVER BEING GAY.

THE ULTIMATE IRONY? I BELIEVE IF DAVID DREIER

CALLED A PRESS CONFERENCE TOMORROW AND ANNOUNCED, "THIS IS MY TRUTH--

30 YEARS IN COMING, BUT THIS IS MY TRUTH."

I THINK HE'D PROBABLY BE RE-ELECTED.

IF HE DECIDES TO EVENTUALLY COME OUT,

HE'LL DO SO WHEN HE DECIDES TO RETIRE FROM THE HOUSE.

THAT'S A TRAGEDY. IT'S MUCH BETTER

TO HAVE SOMEONE OF DAVID DREIER'S

REALLY BRILLIANT LEGISLATIVE SKILL

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FINALLY COMING OUT OF HIS OWN VOLITION.

SO IS THERE AN EFFORT? PROBABLY.

HAS HE MOVED? NO.

LESBIAN AND GAY ISSUES

ARE UNDER-REPORTED AND UNDER-COVERED IN THE MEDIA

SOMETIMES BECAUSE OUR ALLIES IN THE MEDIA

ARE TRYING TO BE SENSITIVE TO NOT OUT SOMEBODY.

ALL OF MY STRAIGHT FRIENDS IN THE MEDIA

HANDLE THIS ISSUE BADLY,

UM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S DISCOMFITING.

THEY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT.

Right after the break, we're gonna interview Erik Weihenmayer

who climbed the highest mountain in the world, Mount Everest.

But he's gay!

I mean, he's gay-- excuse me. He's blind.

So we'll hear about that coming up.

PEOPLE WILL WRITE ABOUT MY RELIGION.

THEY WILL WRITE ABOUT MY HEIGHT, WRITE ABOUT MY SCHOOLING.

THEY WILL WRITE ABOUT A WHOLE RANGE OF THINGS.

IF THEY WON'T WRITE ABOUT MY SEXUALITY,

THEY'RE IN EFFECT SAYING, "THE POOR SO-AND-SO.

THAT IS SUCH A TERRIBLE FACT WE HAVE TO KEEP IT SECRET."

JOURNALISTS ARE IN THE BUSINESS OF TELLING THE TRUTH.

THEY SHOULD BE CONSTANTLY REEVALUATING WHAT THEY'RE DOING

AND LOOKING AT WHY THEY TREAT HOMOSEXUALITY AND HETEROSEXUALITY DIFFERENTLY.

MY FAMILY JOKES THAT WHEN THEY WATCH THE NEWS WITH ME

LIKE, "THAT REPORTER'S GAY." IT PERMEATES THE MEDIA HERE.

ALL THE REPORTERS ARE GAY. YOU KNOW?

CNN AND FOX, THE SAME ONES WHO ARE COVERING THE STORY,

THEY'RE PART OF THE WASHINGTON CULTURE TOO. SO FOR THEM TO BE AMBITIOUS,

THEY DON'T TALK ABOUT THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND HAVEN'T FOR YEARS.

Live from New York,

this is "The Fox Report" with Shepard Smith.

J-Lo's new song "Jenny from the Block,"

all about Lopez's roots,

about how she's still a neighborhood gal at heart.

But folks from the Bronx section

sound more likely to give her a curb job

than a blowjob-- or block party.

I'm sorry about that slip up there.

I have no idea how that happened, but it won't happen again.

I WAS AT A BAR IN NEW YORK,

A GAY PIANO BAR ON THE UPPER EAST SIDE CALLED "BRANDY'S."

WE SAT DOWN NEXT TO THIS GUY

AND IT WAS SHEPARD SMITH FROM FOX NEWS.

HE STARTED CHATTING ME UP

AND BUYING ME DRINKS.

AND, UH, HE ASKED ME IF I'D COME BACK TO HIS APARTMENT...

AT 3:00 IN THE MORNING.

A YEAR WENT BY AND HE STARTED GETTING A LOT OF EXPOSURE

AS THE NEW RISING STAR OF CABLE TV NEWS.

HE WAS GRANTING INTERVIEWS TO REPORTERS

AND BEING PROFILED IN "THE NEW YORK TIMES"

AND WAS BEING MORE THAN COY ABOUT HIS SEXUAL ORIENTATION.

BECAUSE IT WAS ASKED, AND HE WAS EITHER LYING

OR DODGING THE QUESTION.

IT WAS AT THAT POINT THAT I SAID, "OKAY,

TIME TO COME OUT."

I THINK IT TO THIS DAY REMAINS

THE MOST POPULAR COLUMN THAT I'VE EVER WRITTEN.

EVERYONE LOVES A GOOD OUTING.

THIS TOWN IS FULL OF GAY PEOPLE.

I REMEMBER WHEN I FIRST MOVED HERE THINKING HOW GAY IT WAS.

SOMETIMES I THINK WASHINGTON'S MORE GAY THAN SAN FRANCISCO IS.

CAPITOL HILL IS PACKED

WITH GAY STAFFERS.

THERE ARE SO MANY OF THEM.

YOU CAN'T SWING A DEAD CAT

WITHOUT HITTING A GAY STAFFER.

THERE'S A RUNNING JOKE

THAT GAY MEN MAKE CAPITOL HILL RUN ON TIME.

THEY DON'T HAVE A WIFE OR CHILDREN TO GO HOME TO,

SO THEY CAN WORK REALLY LONG HOURS.

I THINK IF THEY TRIED TO FIRE GAY STAFF

LIKE THEY DO BOOTING PEOPLE OUT OF THE MILITARY,

THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS WOULD SCREECH TO A HALT.

TO THIS DAY, I HAVE NOT SEEN ANY PLACE LIKE IT.

SO IT IS PROBABLY THE MOST GAY PLACE.

UNFORTUNATELY, IT'S PROBABLY STILL THE MOST CLOSETED PLACE.

THERE ARE SCORES OF CLOSETED REPUBLICANS

AND DEMOCRATS, I MIGHT ADD,

WHO JUST BECAUSE OF THEIR LIFE JOURNEY,

BECAUSE OF THEIR GENERATIONAL EXPERIENCE,

BECAUSE OF THEIR DESIRE NOT TO BE VULNERABLE

IN TERMS OF GETTING RE-ELECTED,

HAVE CHOSEN TO STAY IN THE CLOSET.

YEAH?

FROM THE DAY I FIRST GOT ELECTED TO PUBLIC OFFICE

IN 1972, I WAS CLOSETED FOR THE FIRST 15 OF THOSE YEARS.

MY ORIGINAL VIEW WAS THAT I COULD BE

PUBLICALLY KIND OF NEUTRAL,

AND PRIVATELY I COULD LIVE THE LIFE OF A GAY MAN.

BUT IT DOESN'T WORK. BECAUSE WHEN YOU'RE REASONABLY PROMINENT,

WHAT CAN YOU DO? YOU CAN'T GO TO BARS TO MEET PEOPLE.

YOU CAN'T--

YOU CAN'T MEET PEOPLE WITHOUT OUTING YOURSELF,

SO IT'S KIND OF HARD TO BE PUBLIC AND CLOSETED.

THERE WERE LOTS OF RUMORS THAT HAVE BEEN AROUND.

AND I WAS ALWAYS CONCERNED ABOUT WHAT KINDS OF THINGS

WOULD COME UP IN A CAMPAIGN OR WHAT THINGS MIGHT BE SAID.

SO, YOU KNOW,

THERE WAS THAT KIND OF THING THAT GNAWS AT YOU.

IT'S JUST THERE. IT'S SITTING ON YOUR SHOULDER

LIKE A LITTLE TWEETY BIRD SITTING ON YOUR SHOULDER

ABOUT TO CHIRP AT YOU.

AND YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN IT'S GOING TO DO THAT.

IF YOU ARE A LESBIAN DEEPLY IN THE CLOSET

AND YOU'RE HAVING A CONVERSATION ABOUT,

YOU KNOW, WHO YOU SHARE YOUR LIFE WITH,

YOU EITHER HAVE TO LIE

AND SAY "HE" RATHER THAN "SHE"

IN REFERRING TO YOUR PARTNER,

BUT ALTERNATIVELY

USING GENDERLESS PRONOUNS.

"WE HAD A GOOD WEEKEND."

AND, YOU KNOW, JUST SORT OF AVOIDING IT.

AND REALLY, THAT TAKES A LOT OF ENERGY TO DO

TO MAKE SURE YOUR STORY'S STRAIGHT, SO TO SPEAK.

WHEN YOU'RE LIVING IN THE CLOSET,

THE FEAR IS THAT SOMEONE'S GOING TO EXPOSE YOU

FOR THEIR POLITICAL GAIN TO TAKE YOU DOWN.

AND SO YOU'RE ALWAYS WONDERING,

"IS THIS THE CONVERSATION? IS THIS THE PERSON?

IS THIS THE SITUATION?"

WHEN I RAN FOR MAYOR THE FIRST TIME,

I RECEIVED THREAT LETTERS AND THREAT PHONE CALLS.

I'VE SAVED THE LETTERS AND ONE OF THEM SAID,

"WE'RE COMING TO THE PUBLIC FORUM

AND WE'RE GOING TO EXPOSE YOU

SO ALL YOUR SUPPORTERS WILL KNOW

THAT YOU'RE REALLY A GAY MAN."

FOR ANYONE TO KNOW THAT YOU'RE GAY,

TO BE THE GAY "ANYTHING,"

WOULD BE THE WORST THING IN THE WORLD TO HAPPEN TO YOU.

YOU COULD LOSE YOUR FAMILY. YOU COULD LOSE YOUR JOB. YOU COULD LOSE YOUR POWER

OR POLITICAL POSITION. YOU COULD LOSE YOUR SEAT IN CONGRESS.

I'VE HAD MEMBERS OF CONGRESS

CRYING IN MY ARMS

BECAUSE THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO COME OUT.

WHEN YOU TRY TO COMPARTMENTALIZE

ALL THESE PARTS OF YOUR LIFE

AND IF YOU TRY TO SHOVE YOUR SEXUAL ORIENTATION INTO A BOX

AND KEEP IT FROM YOUR CONSTITUENTS,

IT HAS VERY DEADLY CONSEQUENCES.

Good afternoon.

Throughout my life,

I have grappled with my own identity-- who I am.

As a young child, I often felt ambivalent

about myself, in fact, confused.

From the first words out of his mouth this afternoon,

it was clear Jim McGreevy, the governor of New Jersey,

was making very big news indeed.

At a point in every person's life,

one has to look deeply into the mirror of one's soul

and decide one's unique truth.

And beyond the facts and allegations and anguish

immediately surrounding his story,

what the governor said today

also becomes part of a larger story

at a turning point for the country.

And so my truth is that I am a gay American.

Another boundary of American politics

has been crossed today.

With his wife by his side, the governor announced

that he is gay,

that he had an affair with a man, and that he would resign.

His announcement makes him the highest-ranking American politician...

I BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THAT EVEN IN GRAMMAR SCHOOL

THAT SOMEHOW I WAS PROFOUNDLY DIFFERENT.

NO ONE COMES UP TO YOU

AND TELLS YOU THAT YOU'RE AFRICAN-AMERICAN,

OR JEWISH-AMERICAN OR IRISH-AMERICAN.

YOU DISCOVER YOU'RE GAY

BY YOURSELF.

AND I WAS GOING TO THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND LOOKING FOR

"WHAT IS HOMOSEXUALITY? WHAT ARE ITS ORIGINS?"

AND HOW IT'S DESCRIBED.

IT WAS ALL HORRIFIC. IT WAS ALL APOCALYPTIC.

IT WAS A CURSE.

I ACCEPTED ALL THOSE MESSAGES OF SHAME

AND MESSAGES OF HATE,

MESSAGES OF IGNORANCE.

BUT YOU REALIZE IT'S INTRINSIC.

IT'S WHO AND WHAT YOU ARE.

AND SO YOU DENY THIS THING,

BUT WHAT HAPPENS IS IT COMES OUT.

AND IT COMES OUT IN DARK PLACES.

YOU BEGIN TO BELIEVE THAT IT IS SHAMEFUL

BECAUSE YOU WERE ACTING, FOR ME, IN SHAMEFUL WAYS.

I MEAN, WHERE AM I HAVING SEX?

I'M HAVING SEX IN BACK ALLEYS OF ABANDONED SYNAGOGUES.

I'M HAVING SEX IN REST STOPS.

THE FACT IS MY STRAIGHT FRIENDS

WERE PICKING UP THEIR GIRLFRIENDS

IN BARS AND AT PARTIES AND DOING IT WHEREVER.

I DIDN'T HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY

TO DO IT IN PUBLIC WAYS THAT WERE HEALTHY,

THAT WERE SAFE AND THAT WERE ACCEPTED.

AND SO BY DOING IT IN SECRET CLOSETED WAYS,

I BELIEVE IT IS UNHEALTHY FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY,

IT IS UNHEALTHY FOR THE BEING

AND IT WAS UNHEALTHY FOR MY SOUL.

Dave Karsnia over tape: All right, so let's start from the beginning.

- You went in the bathroom. - I went in the bathroom.

I got in a stall, sat down

and I started to go to the bathroom.

Did our feet come together? Apparently, they did bump.

Let me be clear: I am not gay.

I never have been gay.

HE DOESN'T THINK HE'S GAY. YOU KNOW WHAT? HE'S NOT GAY.

MAYBE HE'S HOMOSEXUAL OR SOMETHING, I DON'T KNOW.

NOT "GAY" AS IN IDENTIFIED POLITICALLY WITH OUR TRIBE.

WHO KNOWS IF LARRY CRAIG IS GAY OR NOT?

BUT WHATEVER HE IS,

IT'S POSSIBLE THAT HE'S ACTUALLY PART OF US.

WE DON'T WANT HIM, BUT IT'S POSSIBLE

HE'S ACTUALLY PART OF OUR COMMUNITY.

I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY IN HIS GENERATION--

AND IT'S STILL POSSIBLE IN YOUNGER GENERATIONS--

FOR PEOPLE TO BE SO TERRIFIED INTERNALLY

OF THEIR OWN SEXUAL ORIENTATION

THAT THEY LITERALLY JUST SUPPRESS IT TO SUCH AN EXTENT,

THAT THEY CAN'T EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE IT WHILE ACTING AS IT.

ARE YOU TECHNICALLY NOT A HOMOSEXUAL?

IS IT POSSIBLE YOU'RE BISEXUAL?

IT'S NO TO BOTH.

THE OTHER QUESTION IS DO YOU THINK

IT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE AWFUL?

IN OTHER WORDS, DO YOU VIEW IT AS SOMETHING

THAT WOULD BE AWFUL TO HAVE TO ADMIT

THAT YOU WERE GAY?

I DON'T AGREE WITH THE LIFESTYLE.

AND I'VE SAID SO BY MY VOTES OVER THE YEARS.

I THINK THAT FOR A LOT OF GAY PEOPLE

WHO MAY HARBOR SOME VERY, VERY DEEP

INTERNALIZED HOMOPHOBIA,

ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THEY FEEL BETTER ABOUT THEMSELVES

IS BY ALIGNING THEMSELVES WITH THE FORCES

THAT MIGHT ACTUALLY WANT TO DO HARM TO THEM.

AS A TEENAGER, I WAS LABELED A FAG.

AND WHAT I WOULD DO

IN ORDER TO BATTLE THAT AND FIGHT THAT

WAS I WOULD JOIN UP WITH THE OTHER GUYS

WHO WOULD BASH OTHER GAY BOYS

TO PROVE THAT "HEY, I'M NOT A FAG. I'LL EVEN BEAT UP ONE."

AND THAT, GOING BACK, IS REALLY WHAT WE SEE TODAY

IN SO MANY PEOPLE WHO ARE IN CONGRESS

VOTING AGAINST GAY PEOPLE.

IT'S THE SAME THING I WAS DOING AS A TEENAGER.

THEY ARE BASHING OTHER GAY PEOPLE

IN ORDER TO PROVE THAT THEY'RE NOT GAY.

I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING IN HISTORY

THAT-- WHERE DEEPLY ANTI- OR HOMOPHOBIC ACTIVITIES

HAVEN'T BEEN AT SOME LEVEL PERPETUATED OR FOSTERED

BY PEOPLE WHO WERE GAY.

LOOK AT McCARTHYISM AND THE WITCH HUNTS--

LED BY A CLOSETED GAY: ROY COHN, A TRUE EVIL BASTARD.

THE TARGET GROUPS OF WITCH HUNTS

AND PROSECUTION

WERE COMMUNISTS AND QUEERS.

ROY COHN SUPPORTED LOTS OF REALLY DREADFUL PEOPLE

WHO WERE COMPLETELY HOMOPHOBIC,

AND IN SOME WAYS WAS HIMSELF HOMOPHOBIC.

HE HAD A LOT OF NEGATIVE FEELINGS

ABOUT OUT GAY PEOPLE.

ROY COHN IS NOT A HOMOSEXUAL.

ROY COHN IS A HETEROSEXUAL MAN, HENRY,

WHO FUCKS AROUND WITH GUYS.

I HAD TO TAKE MY BEST SHOT

AT TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW THAT COGNITIVE DISSONANCE

IS NAVIGATED INSIDE OF SOMEBODY.

AND I FEEL LIKE I DID A PRETTY GOOD JOB OF IT.

I MEAN, THE SCENE THAT EVERYBODY LOVES BEST IS WHEN HE'S DIAGNOSED WITH AIDS

AND HE SAYS TO HIS DOCTOR, "I'M NOT A GAY MAN."

NOW TO SOMEONE WHO DOES NOT UNDERSTAND THIS,

HOMOSEXUAL IS WHAT I AM BECAUSE I HAVE SEX WITH MEN,

BUT REALLY THIS IS WRONG.

HOMOSEXUALS ARE NOT MEN WHO SLEEP WITH OTHER MEN.

HOMOSEXUALS ARE MEN WHO IN 15 YEARS OF TRYING

CANNOT PASS A PISSANT ANTIDISCRIMINATION BILL THROUGH CITY COUNCIL.

HOMOSEXUALS ARE MEN WHO KNOW NOBODY

AND WHO NOBODY KNOWS,

WHO HAVE ZERO CLOUT.

THAT RATIONALE GOES SOMETHING LIKE THIS--

IT TOOK ME AWHILE TO FIGURE IT OUT--

BUT IT WAS SORT OF LIKE, "RICH, YOU ARE A WEAK GAY

BECAUSE YOU CAME OUT. I AM A STRONGER PERSON

BECAUSE I REMAIN NOT PART OF A GAY LIBERAL COMMUNITY.

I AM STILL A CONSERVATIVE.

I AM EVERYTHING I WANT. I DON'T PUSH MY AGENDA ON ANYONE.

STRAIGHTS DON'T PUSH THEIR SEXUAL LIVES. WHY SHOULD WE?"

AND IT'S VERY-- I'VE HEARD THIS A MILLION TIMES,

AND IT'S VERY WARPED.

BUT IT WAS SORT OF LIKE, "YOU COULDN'T HAVE THE STAMINA

TO STAY IN THE CLOSET."

THEY'RE VERY CAREFUL. IT'S LIKE A BROADWAY SHOW.

POLITICS IS LIKE A BROADWAY SHOW TO THEM

IN THAT EVERYTHING IS STAGED, EVERYTHING IS PLANNED,

EVERY WORD THAT COMES OUT OF SOMEBODY'S MOUTH IS SCRIPTED.

Today is a special day in my life.

It's not just Valentine's Day.

It happens to be the anniversary of the first date

I had with my wife Suzanne.

Am I a romantic? Well, maybe just a little bit.

Even after the Craigs got married

and he adopted her three children from a previous marriage,

the rumors about her husband persisted.

THEY WERE SAYING THAT IT WAS A MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE.

TO COVER A GAY LIFESTYLE?

OH, GIVE ME A BREAK.

I KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY IN PUBLIC

AND I ACTUALLY KIND OF ADMIRE 'EM

FOR BEING ABLE TO GIVE THAT PERFORMANCE.

I'M SURE I COULDN'T.

UH, BUT THAT'S SOME WEIRD SHIT.

PEOPLE KNOW ME

AND KNOW THAT I WOULD NEVER DO THAT.

THAT'S ALMOST LIKE SELLING YOUR SOUL FOR SOMETHING.NO!

WHERE DO YOU FIND THE SPOUSES

OF THESE PEOPLE WHO STICK WITH THEM?

I MEAN, THAT IS SO BIZARRE. HOW DO YOU STAND NEXT TO YOUR HUSBAND

AFTER HE'S BEEN IN A STALL?

I MEAN, I WOULD HAVE BEEN GOING TO--

I'D HAVE HEADED TO A SHOWER FOR A "SILKWOOD" SCRUBDOWN

OR CERTAINLY TO AN STD CLINIC.

I WOULDN'T BE AT THE WHISTLE-STOP CAFE

STANDING BY HIM.

IS SHE INSANE?

WHAT INTERESTS ME MORE AND I THINK WHAT IS MORE COMMON

ARE THESE STRAIGHT WOMEN WHO ARE MARRIED

TO CLOSETED GAY MEN WHO DON'T KNOW.

I engaged in an adult consensual affair

with another man

which violates my bonds of matrimony.

I DATED JIM FOR FOUR YEARS BEFORE WE WERE MARRIED,

SO I THOUGHT I KNEW HIM.

PEOPLE ALWAYS SAY, "OH, THERE HAD TO BE SIGNS."

I HAD TO KNOW THIS WAS AN ARRANGED MARRIAGE.

OUR SEX LIFE, OUR RELATIONSHIP-- THERE WAS NOTHING--

OUR INTIMACY-- THERE WAS NOTHING TO INDICATE THAT THERE WAS A PROBLEM.

I HAD NEVER BEEN MARRIED BEFORE

SO I COULDN'T COMPARE IT TO ANOTHER MARRIAGE.

BUT FROM TALKING TO FRIENDS AND FAMILY,

IT WAS A NORMAL RELATIONSHIP.

IF YOU'RE KEEPING A DOUBLE LEDGER

FROM THE SECOND OF YOUR MORNING BREATH

TO THE TIME YOU GO TO BED AT NIGHT,

IT'S LIKE A BAD "STAR TREK" EPISODE-- YOU HAVE TO DISCERN

WHICH FOOT IS IN WHICH UNIVERSE AT ANY GIVEN TIME.

YOU'RE PLAYING IN A PARALLEL UNIVERSE,

BUT IT'S NOT INTEGRATED, IT'S NOT HONEST,

IT'S NOT WHOLESOME AND IT'S NOT TRANSPARENT.

NONE OF THAT WAS REAL.

NONE OF THOSE FEELINGS OF THOSE EMOTIONS

WERE REAL FROM HIS PERSPECTIVE. IT WAS ALL AN ACT.

WHAT PART OF MY LIFE AND MY MARRIAGE WAS REAL?

WAS THAT TRIP REAL? WAS THAT VACATION REAL?

WHAT ABOUT IT WAS AUTHENTIC?

IF YOUR HUSBAND LEAVES YOU FOR ANOTHER WOMAN

OR IF YOUR WIFE LEAVES YOU FOR ANOTHER MAN,

AT SOME POINT YOU HAD FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER

SO AT SOME POINT THERE WAS LOVE.

IN MY CASE, I DON'T THINK HE EVER FELT THAT FOR ME.

THERE WERE MOMENTS OF PASSION,

BUT AT THAT POINT,

I WASN'T READY TO ACCEPT EVEN WHO AND WHAT I AM.

SO TO BE TOTALLY OPEN WITH HER,

I WOULD HAVE HAD TO ACCEPT MYSELF

AND THEN SHARE IT WITH SOMEBODY I LOVED.

TO A CERTAIN POINT THEY ARE THE VICTIM,

BUT THEY MADE THEIR OWN CHOICES

ABOUT HOW THEY WERE GONNA LIVE THEIR LIVES.

God the Father, God the Son,

God the Holy Spirit, bless, preserve and keep you.

WHEN I THINK, IT HAD TO BE TORTURE

FOR HIM TO GO THROUGH LIFE TRYING TO LIVE AS SOMEONE

HE CLEARLY WASN'T COMFORTABLE BEING...

...BUT HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DESTROY MY LIFE

OR MY DAUGHTER'S LIFE OR ANYBODY ELSE'S LIFE.

It was wrong. It was foolish.

It was inexcusable.

And for this, I ask the forgiveness

and the grace of my wife.

She has been extraordinary throughout this ordeal...

I'VE BEEN PRIVILEGED TO SERVE PEOPLE

OF THIS GREAT STATE WE CALL FLORIDA.

SHE IS THE STATE WITH THE PRETTIEST NAME

AND I LOVE HER.

Testing testing, one two three.

At first glance, Kelly Crosby Heyniger

seems like a typical suburban mom,

but what makes her unique is the company she keeps.

He's a great guy,

a lot of fun. He's real.

He wants to make a difference.

"He" is Florida Governor Charlie Crist.

Kelly was set up on a date with him for a charity event

on Jupiter Island several months ago.

YOU'D ACTUALLY WANT RUMORS.

I MEAN, I'D GO TO GO-GO BARS WITH MY BUDDIES.

MY GAY FRIENDS SAID AFTERWARDS,

"WHAT DID YOU DO FOR THOSE HOURS?"

We have a good relationship. I enjoy his company

and I think he enjoys mine too,

but I don't like to project.

I WOULD SORT OF PARSE WORDS WHEN PEOPLE WOULD CONFRONT ME,

"OH, I HEAR RUMORS THAT YOU'RE GAY."

I'M LIKE, "OH, THAT'S CRAZY."

"YOU'RE A HOMOSEXUAL?" "NO, THAT'S ABSURD.

THERE'S RUMORS ABOUT EVERYBODY IN POLITICS." SO YOU'D BE DISMISSIVE.

Charlie, let me ask you this:

- Are you a homo?

Okay, I didn't think so.

I can attest

because I've seen you with some great-looking women. I go...

Rumors that Crist is gay have been printed

in alternative newspapers and online. He denies it.

And Kelly doesn't give that speculation a second thought.

Do people say stuff to you about that?

Mm, they do,

but when you put yourself in front of the public eye,

someone is always gonna have something negative to say,

whether it be true or not.

THE CLOSET FOR ME IN THE CONTEXT OF POWER POLITICS

IS ACTUALLY QUITE DANGEROUS.

I THINK IT DEEPLY CONVOLUTES YOUR PERSPECTIVE

ON WHAT'S RIGHT AND WHAT'S WRONG.

I THINK IT MAKES YOU LESS GENUINE.

I THINK PEOPLE WHO ARE CLOSETED AND INVOLVED IN POLITICS

ARE INTERESTED IN CONTINUALLY COVERING UP

WHO THEY ARE AND WHAT THEY ARE,

WHICH I THINK DELIVERS A VERY NEGATIVE PUBLIC POLICY.

YOU KNOW, IN 1976,

GERRY FORD AND JIMMY CARTER WERE ABOUT EVEN ON GAY RIGHTS.

SINCE THEN THE DEMOCRATS HAVE GOTTEN BETTER

AND THE REPUBLICANS CAPTURED BY THE RIGHT WING HAVE GOTTEN WORSE.

STARTING IN THE EARLY '70s,

JOE COORS AND A NUMBER OF PEOPLE

PAID JUSTICE LEWIS POWELL BEFORE HE WAS ON THE SUPREME COURT

TO WRITE WHAT WE CALL "THE POWELL MANIFESTO."

NOW IT'S BASICALLY A CONCRETE BUSINESS PLAN

ON HOW TO ENSURE FREE ENTERPRISE IN PERPETUITY.

AND WITH WHAT WE CALL THE NINE FAMILIES--

THE BRADLEYS, THE SCAIFES, THE OLINS, THE COORS--

THIS HUGE MACHINE WAS BUILT:

MEDIA MONITORS AND JUDICIAL WATCHES

AND ELEGANT LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS

AND THINK TANKS THAT COME UP WITH ISSUES

THAT WILL PANDER TO CERTAIN VOTERS.

AND WHAT POPPED UP FOR THEM

LIKE A GIFT WAS GAY MARRIAGE.

AND THEY WENT, "EUREKA!

THIS IS WHAT WE'LL USE."

God, as California goes, so goes the nation.

A confrontation between light and darkness

will happen this November.

A battle to save the very sanctity of marriage.

To the victor goes the soul of the nation!

These gays is going to hell!

This abomination in the sight of God--

This is what the homosexuals can do.

They don't really care about how much they destroy.

WE SHOULD NOT LET 2% OF THE POPULATION

DETERMINE-- TO CHANGE THE DEFINITION OF MARRIAGE

THAT HAS BEEN SUPPORTED BY EVERY SINGLE CULTURE

AND EVERY SINGLE RELIGION FOR 5,000 YEARS.

RIGHT NOW THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AND THE RELIGIOUS RIGHT

ARE IN AN UNHOLY ALLIANCE POLITICALLY.

AND I THINK THEIR UNHOLY ALLIANCE

HAS BEEN LARGELY FOCUSED

ON THIS NOTION OF BEING HOMOPHOBIC.

In America the only marriage to be recognized

is the marriage between a man and a woman!

I SAW IT COMING

IN THE FALL OF '03

WITH THE MASSACHUSETTS COURT RULING

WITH A CLOSE ELECTION. I SAW IT COMING.

I REMEMBER THE DAY

THAT PRESIDENT BUSH GOT UP AND HELD THE NEWS CONFERENCE

ANNOUNCING HIS SUPPORT FOR THE AMENDMENT.

Marriage cannot be severed

from its cultural, religious and natural roots.

SEEING THE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCING

THAT ONE OF HIS TOP PRIORITIES IN CONGRESS

WAS TO PREVENT ME AND MY PARTNER

FROM HAVING A LEGITIMATE RELATIONSHIP,

THAT WAS A POWERFUL THING.

IT'S A VERY SURREAL EXPERIENCE

TO WATCH THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS

AND HAVE THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

ATTACK YOU AND DEMONIZE YOU IN THAT SPEECH

THAT'S BEING WATCHED BY THE ENTIRE WORLD.

IT JUST MADE YOU SICK.

IT REALLY IN MANY WAYS WAS A GUT CHECK FOR ME.

I THINK IT WAS FOR A LOT OF OTHER GAY REPUBLICANS TOO.

I WAS JUST FURIOUS. I FELT BETRAYED. I FELT ANGRY.

I GUESS IF I BELIEVED

THAT IT WAS A SINCERE PERSONAL CONVICTION,

I MIGHT HAVE FELT DIFFERENTLY ABOUT IT.

BUT TO JUST USE THAT TO GET MORE VOTES...

THIS WAS JUST RAW POLITICS.

THE PRESIDENT DIDN'T NEED TO DO THIS TO GET RE-ELECTED.

I THINK THE FEDERAL MARRIAGE AMENDMENT

WAS THE MOST VIOLENT ATTACK UPON GAY PEOPLE AND THEIR RIGHTS

IN THIS COUNTRY, EXPLICITLY, THAT'S EVER HAPPENED.

I cannot think of a better good

that this body may pursue

than to promote and defend the idea

that every child deserves both a father and a mother.

EVERY ACT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST GAY OR LESBIAN, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

USUALLY STARTS WITH SOME FORM OF VERY VISIBLE AND VERY LOUD DEFAMATION.

Anywhere in the world today,

you can wake somebody up in the middle of the night,

you pick 'em, and say, "Excuse me. Wake up just a second.

What is a marriage?"

And they'll say, "A union between a man and a woman."

SO YOU HAVE THESE ANTI-GAY LEADERS THAT ARE SPEWING ALL THIS HATRED

ABOUT GAY AND LESBIAN PEOPLE.

AND PEOPLE WHO AREN'T REALLY ENGAGED

AND DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON AND DON'T FOLLOW IT THAT MUCH

HAVE A GENERAL SAME VIEWPOINT AS THEM

AND THEY JUST SORT OF COPY AND THEY MIRROR IT. AND THAT'S HOW IT TRANSFORMS.

A charred truck, threats,

"I'll be back," and in bigger writing

for everyone to see: "Gay must go."

22-year-old James Nichola who goes by "Janine"

says he was the victim of a hate crime.

He says the attackers the whole time were yelling,

"We want you out of our neighborhood!"

San Jose, California: Bill Kiley suffered

repeated harassment from a young neighbor.

This is video of Neve in the hospital

just a few days after he was brutally attacked.

He spent several days in Strong Hospital

with a fractured skull, nose, upper jaw and eye socket.

On May 29, the 18-year-old victim's body

is discovered in the woods behind his family's Woodlawn home.

Police say Steven Parrish had joined a Bloods gang

and was killed by two members of his own group.

Court documents say it's because they thought he was gay.

That was four days before his graduation from Randallstown High School.

Students marched in Oxnard, California,

in memory of Lawrence "Larry" King,

a 15-year-old student police say was gunned down by a classmate

because he was openly gay. 14-year-old Brandon McInerney

allegedly shot King in the head in the school's computer lab.

It's over.

King was pronounced brain-dead at a local hospital.

His body was kept alive so his organs could be donated.

Today I call upon the Congress to promptly pass

and to send to the states for ratification

an amendment to our Constitution

defining and protecting marriage as the union of a man and woman

as husband and wife.

DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH THE 2004 STRATEGY

AROUND ANTI-GAY ELEMENTS OF THE BUSH CAMPAIGN,

YOU WILL FIND A CADRE OF GAY PEOPLE.

THE 2004 ELECTION WAS A VERY ANTI-GAY--

YOU KNOW, IT WAS A PARTY.

AND KEN MEHLMAN WAS LIKE THE M.C.

Lifestyle issues. Gay marriage.

Is that an issue in this campaign?

I think it's an issue in many races.

IT WAS HARD BECAUSE THERE WASN'T THE KIND OF EVIDENCE

WITH KEN MEHLMAN THAT THERE WAS WITH OTHER PEOPLE,

BUT IT WAS RELATIVELY KNOWN, AND NOBODY WOULD EVEN ASK.

A lot of the chiefs of staff,

the people who really run the underpinnings

of the Republican party are gay.

I don't want to mention names, but I will Friday night.

You will Friday night?

Well, there's a couple of big people who I think everyone in Washington knows

- who run the-- - You will name them?

Well, I wouldn't be the first.

I'd get sued if I was the first.

Ken Mehlman, there's one I think people have talked about.

I don't think he's denied it when people have suggested it.

- He doesn't say-- - I'm walking around in a fog.

- Come on. - Ken Mehlman? I never heard that.

- But the question is-- - Maybe you don't go to the same bathhouse I do.

I'd get sued if I was the first.

Maybe you don't go to the same bathhouse I do.

Why would someone who is gay

take public anti-gay positions?

Why would you do that?

Because, Larry, hating yourself is the greatest love of all.

KEN MEHLMAN WAS THE GUY THAT RAN THE CAMPAIGN

THAT WAS SENDING OUT THESE FLIERS,

THAT WAS BAITING PEOPLE, THAT WAS--

PARTICULARLY IN OHIO AND ALL THESE BATTLEGROUND STATES

WHERE IT WAS ALL ABOUT "LET'S GET PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR BUSH

BY THIS GAY THING" LED BY THE GAY GUY!

AND FUNDED BY THE GAY GUY!

AND POLITICALLY DIRECTED BY THE GAY GUY!

YOU KNOW? AND I THINK PEOPLE DESERVE TO KNOW THAT.

I THINK MARY CHENEY'S OUTING WAS EFFECTIVE.

OH, I'M APPALLED BY THE CHENEYS.

I FELT EXTREMELY DISHEARTENED...

THAT THEY WERE AS SUPPORTIVE OF THE ANTI-GAY POLICIES AS THEY WERE.

WE ALWAYS THOUGHT WE HAD SOME PROTECTION

BECAUSE OF THE VICE PRESIDENT'S DAUGHTER.

If your father was not the vice president,

and you were a gay woman in a gay relationship

in the United States in 2004, 2000,

- would you have voted for this ticket? - Yes, I would have.

IF SHE WERE STRIPPED OF HER FATHER'S TITLE,

SHE WOULD BE SUBJECTED TO THE SAME GRATUITOUS DISCRIMINATION

THAT AFFECTS SO MANY GAYS AND LESBIANS IN THIS COUNTRY.

SHE IS PROTECTED BY HER POSITION AND HER MONEY.

- And you have a partner. - I do.

"Gay couples cannot file jointly for federal taxes." Is that true?

- That is true. - And your feelings about that?

I think it's wrong. I think they should be able to.

Did you talk to your father about this?

We have many conversations about different issues.

Maybe that's the point.

I'm wondering if people would rather

you had talked about it during the campaign

as opposed to after the campaign and putting it in the book.

Would it have been more effective to talk about it then?

I honestly don't think it would have been.

I'M COMPLETELY UNIMPRESSED

THAT SHE DOESN'T AGREE WITH PRESIDENT BUSH

OR HER FATHER DICK CHENEY,

WHEN IN FACT SHE WORKED,

SHE WAS A PAID OPERATIVE

TO GET THEM ELECTED AND THEN RE-ELECTED.

MARY CHENEY'S JOB BEFORE HER FATHER RAN FOR PRESIDENT

WAS TO BE THE GAY AND LESBIAN LIAISON FOR COORS BEER.

SHE MADE HER LIVING FIGURING OUT

HOW TO DISSECT THE GAY COMMUNITY

INTO NICHE MARKETS AND SELL THEM COORS BEER.

BUT SHE WASN'T INQUISITIVE ENOUGH

AND DIDN'T CARE ENOUGH

TO DISSECT THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

AND THE ELITE OF THAT PARTY

TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET BASIC RIGHTS PASSED.

THERE IS PROBABLY NOT A BETTER EXAMPLE

OF SOMEONE WHO IS SO STEEPED

IN HYPOCRISY.

SHE COULD HAVE MADE A HUGE DIFFERENCE

AND DID NOT.

I GOT A CALL FROM A GOOD FRIEND OF MINE

WHO TOLD ME THERE WAS A GAY ACTIVIST

WHO WAS GOING TO START A BLOG

AND WAS GONNA START OUTING REPUBLICANS.

DURING THIS TIME, I WAS THE NATIONAL FIELD DIRECTOR

OF THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE.

ONE OF THE BIG RESPONSIBILITIES THAT I HAD

WAS HELPING TO OVERSEE A DIRECT-MAIL PROGRAM.

I WAS THE FIRST ONE TO GET A PAMPHLET

FROM AN ARKANSAS READER OF MY BLOG

THAT SAID THE DEMOCRATS WERE GONNA BAN THEIR BIBLE

AND TURN STATES INTO BASTIONS OF HOMOSEXUALITY.

AND THEY WERE SENDING THIS TO CHURCH PEW ROSTERS AROUND THE COUNTRY.

IT WAS SENT BY THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE

AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN TRY TO HIDE IT!

DAN GURLEY WHO HAD ULTIMATE AUTHORITY

OVER THESE UNBELIEVABLE FLIERS, HE HAD A PROFILE ON GAY.COM

THAT WAS STASHED FULL OF A BUNCH OF HIS PICTURES.

AND HE WAS SEEKING MULTIPLE PARTNERS FOR SEX.

I GOT A CALL FROM HIM AT HOME ONE SUNDAY NIGHT

SAYING, "YOU'RE THE ONE. YOU'RE GONNA BE NEXT."

HE POINTEDLY ASKED ME IF I WAS A GAY MAN.

AND I TOLD HIM THAT I WAS.

UH, HE...

IMMEDIATELY THEN STARTED TO...

TO QUESTION ME ABOUT DID I NOT HAVE A CONSCIENCE?

DID I NOT FEEL SOME SORT OF REMORSE

OR REGRET FOR WORKING FOR A POLITICAL PARTY,

WORKING TO HELP ELECT A PRESIDENT

THAT DID NOT SUPPORT EQUAL RIGHTS FOR GAY AMERICANS?

I BASICALLY JUST SAID, YOU KNOW,

"YOU DO WHAT YOU FEEL LIKE YOU THINK YOU HAVE TO DO."

I WAS IN LINE FOR A PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT,

IN ALL LIKELIHOOD IN SOME POLICY ROLE SOMEWHERE.

BUT ONCE ROGERS DID THIS POSTING ABOUT ME

THAT OPPORTUNITY EVAPORATED.

RECENTLY I GET AN EMAIL--

"DAN GURLEY'S ON THE BOARD

OF NORTH CAROLINA EQUALITY." I'M LIKE, "WHAT?"

I WENT TO THE WEBSITE, I LOOKED IT ABOUT,

AND I'M LIKE, "THIS IS HOT.

THIS IS WHY I STARTED BLOGACTIVE."

HE'S AN OUT GAY MAN AND HE'S PROUD

AND HE'S ON THE BOARD OF A STATEWIDE NATIONAL GAY GROUP.

THIS MAN IS USING HIS SKILL TO SECURE GAY RIGHTS.

WHAT COULD BE BETTER AND WHAT BETTER EFFECT

COULD I HAVE AS AN INDIVIDUAL?

WHEN YOU COME OUT, I GUARANTEE YOU

THE EXPERIENCE WILL BE BETTER THAN YOU EVER DREAMED IT WOULD BE.

IN A SENSE I CAME OUT, I GUESS YOU MIGHT SAY, IN STAGES.

I LEFT A MARRIAGE BACK IN 1991

AND THAT WAS A BIG STEP FOR ME.

I RECOGNIZED MYSELF AND HER--

WHAT THE FEELINGS THAT I HAD.

JULY OF '96 WAS WHEN WE HAD A VOTE

ON WHAT WAS CALLED D.O.M.A., THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT.

AND I VOTED FOR THAT.

AT THAT TIME "THE ADVOCATE" MAGAZINE DECIDED THEY WOULD WRITE AN ARTICLE.

AND APPROACHED ME ABOUT IT AND TOLD ME THEY WERE GOING TO DO SO

AND NAME ME AS ONE WHO WAS GAY.

AND I BASICALLY JUST SAID,

WELL, I THOUGHT THAT WAS WRONG FOR THEM TO DO THAT.

I SAID, "I'LL BEAT YOU TO THE PUNCH HERE." AND I JUST DID IT MYSELF.

IT WAS PROBABLY THE MOST LIFTING EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD.

I HAD THIS UNBELIEVABLE, INDESCRIBABLE

SENSE OF PEACE AND CALM COME OVER ME.

AND I COULD LITERALLY LITERALLY FEEL

40 YEARS JUST LIFTING OFF OF MY SHOULDER.

I'LL NEVER FORGET WHEN I DID MY ANNOUNCEMENT SPEECH.

MY MOTHER HAD FOUND SOME PRAYER CARDS FROM MY GRANDMOTHER,

FOR WHOM I WAS VERY CLOSE TO.

AND I REMEMBER GOING INTO THE BATHROOM

JUST OUTSIDE THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE.

AND, UM...

PRAYING TO MY GRANDMOTHER.

AND SAYING TO HER...

"AT LONG LAST...

THIS IS WHO GOD MADE ME

AND THIS IS A GOOD THING."

I ALWAYS REMEMBER JOHN McCAIN.

WHEN I STARTED TO SAY, "JOHN, THERE'S SOMETHING

I REALLY WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT AND TELL YOU ABOUT."

HE JUST PUT UP HIS HAND AND SAID, "NEVER MIND, JIM. I KNOW.

IT DOESN'T MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE. YOU'RE A GOOD LEGISLATOR.

YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN AND YOU'RE ALWAYS GOING TO BE MY FRIEND."

AND I REMEMBER WALKING AWAY FROM THAT CONVERSATION THINKING,

"GOSH, THAT WAS PRETTY EASY. THAT WASN'T VERY TOUGH TO DO THAT."

AND SO EACH ONE WAS KIND OF LIKE THAT.

AND IT GOT SO I JUST COULDN'T WAIT TO PICK UP THE PHONE TO MAKE THE NEXT CALL.

I THINK IN THE CASE OF A MEMBER OF CONGRESS,

THEY DO CHANGE THEIR VOTING RECORD.

BECAUSE ONCE YOU'RE OUT OF THE CLOSET,

YOUR DELUSIONAL THINKING FALLS BY THE WAYSIDE.

The gentleman is recognized for three minutes.

Mr. Speaker, we have not used the amending process

to limit the rights of citizens. From the First Amendment to the 14th,

the original framers in the Congress that followed

have sought to expand, to protect the rights of citizens.

This would be a unique amendment in that it takes away rights from one group

while specifically conferring it upon another.

Try to find another provision in the Constitution

that does this. You will look in vain.

Mr. Speaker, this Congress and those after it should

be about protecting and expanding freedoms.

This proposed amendment to our Constitution is about discrimination.

It is about fear. It is unnecessary,

it is unwarranted and it should be soundly defeated.

Amendment 2 does only one thing:

defining marriage as a union of a man and a woman.

That's it. When you vote,

say yes to pass life to the next generation.

Vote yes to keep marriage one man, one woman.

That's it. No one loses benefits.

Please vote yes on Amendment 2.

A big political announcement out of Florida tonight.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain

has picked up a major endorsement.

I don't think anybody would do better than the man who stands next to me: Senator John McCain.

Governor Crist, just real quickly, are they chatting with you

about a possible V.P. slot for you? Come on, be shameless.

- Tell us. - We're chatting about working hard for Florida.

Crist has obviously coveted the vice-presidential spot

- on the Republican ticket. - Chris Matthews: "Try getting married,"

is that what we're hearing this week? Is this part of the excitement

and the build-up to running for V.P.? What's going on here?

If your wife can't help you in a campaign, who can?

The state's most eligible bachelor is officially off the market

this Fourth of July. Governor Charlie Crist is engaged.

He popped the question yesterday to his girlfriend of nine months.

Her name is Carole Rome.

Let me start by asking you what made you decide

to pop the question when you did and, you know?

Well, I mean, I think you pop the question like that

when you're in love and I am.

And so that's why I did it.

And thank God she said yes.

We couldn't be happier.

I TELL THEM TO NEVER LIE, THAT IF THEY GET THE QUESTION

THEY SHOULD BE PREPARED TO ANSWER THE QUESTION HONESTLY

AND DO NOTHING BUT ANSWER THE QUESTION HONESTLY.

What's your reaction over some people's preoccupation,

and I'm not talking this time about marriage,

with your sexuality? Both the rumors of-- you know,

the various rumors that have been around?

Sure. Well, you know, when you're in the public eye,

being Governor of Florida, that's inevitable.

And, you know, I just-- I don't really focus on it.

I'm just, uh, you know,

damn glad to-- I found such a wonderful lady.

THE SAD THING ABOUT THE CLOSET IS IT DOES, IN PART,

GIVE YOU SKILLS THAT YOU CAN APPLY AS A POLITICIAN,

BECAUSE SO MUCH OF POLITICS TODAY IS POSITIONING

AND SPINNING AND BEING ABLE TO PIROUETTE ON AN ISSUE.

One aspect is that you were gay.

The other one is that you were a serial philandering heterosexual.

Does that bother you?

Uh, well, lack of truth always would be disturbing to somebody.

But I'm just pleased that I found happiness.

I'VE WATCHED DECENT PEOPLE STRUGGLE WITH COMING OUT

AND BEING UNABLE TO DO SO.

THE CLOSET, PARTICULARLY IN THE MIDST OF A CULTURAL WAR,

SUFFOCATES THE INTEGRITY OF DECENT PEOPLE.

"For this reason, a man will leave his father and mother

and be united with his wife

and they will become one flesh."

For God's design.

On November 4th, vote yes on Amendment 2.

With laws already on the books to ban same-sex marriage in Florida,

voters now added that ban to the State Constitution.

OH, WITHOUT A DOUBT. WITHOUT A DOUBT THE GOVERNOR

OF FLORIDA COULD HAVE CHANGED THE OUTCOME OF THAT ELECTION

HAD HE NOT TILTED TO THE RIGHT AND DECIDED TO TAKE THE POSITION THAT HE DID.

YEAH, WITHOUT A DOUBT.

THE ROAD TO HELL IS PAVED WITH GOOD INTENTIONS.

BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING THE RIGHT THING. AND DAMN IT,

YOU KNOW WHAT THE RIGHT VALUE IS? THE RIGHT VALUE IS TRUTHFULNESS.

THE RIGHT VALUE IS HONESTY.

THE RIGHT VALUE ISN'T LIVING SOMEBODY ELSE'S TRUTH.

IT'S LIVING YOUR TRUTH.

WE DON'T HAVE RIGHTS.

GAY PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE RIGHTS.

DON'T TELL ME THAT WE DO.

THAT'S WHY IT'S SO IMPORTANT

THAT WE KNOW ABOUT THESE PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS

IN PEOPLE'S LIVES. IT AFFECTS GOVERNMENT.

IT AFFECTS EVERYTHING.

THIS WHOLE ISSUE REALLY DOES IMPACT THE PUBLIC-POLICY ARENA.

IT AFFECTS SOME OF OUR NATION'S MOST SIGNIFICANT

AND POWERFUL INDIVIDUALS AND IT'S WHY

MY HOPE IS THAT THIS NEXT GENERATION

OF YOUNG AMERICAN LEADERS DOESN'T HAVE TO BE SUFFOCATED

IN THE MIDST OF A CULTURAL WAR THAT HOPEFULLY HAS ENDED

BY THE TIME THEY REACH WASHINGTON, D.C.

I REALLY DO BELIEVE, AND I'VE ALWAYS FELT THIS,

THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING A GAY PERSON CAN DO

WITH RESPECT TO THE SOCIAL-JUSTICE ISSUES AROUND HOMOSEXUALITY

IS SIMPLY TO BE OUT.

AND IT STAGGERS ME TODAY THAT SO MANY ARE NOT.

IF EVERY GAY PERSON WERE TO COME OUT OF THE CLOSET,

THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT WOULD BE OVER.

THAT'S THE SLEEPING GIANT OF THE MOVEMENT--

IS ALL THE PEOPLE WHO ARE IN THE CLOSET COMING OUT

EN MASSE AND IT WOULD BE DONE.

If every gay person in this state

came out-- came out to their family, their friends,

we would win.

But that means that every gay person must come out

to their families so their family doesn't vote against them,

to their friends, if they are indeed their friends,

to their relatives, to the people where they work,

and to their next-door neighbors. Nobody else.

If that happened across the state, we'd win.