GOP Lawmaker Urges Support For Gay Rights

GOP Lawmaker Urges Support For Gay Rights
Ashburn: End 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'
POSTED: 1:58 pm PDT May 27, 2010
UPDATED: 2:43 pm PDT May 27, 2010


SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sen. Roy Ashburn, a Republican state lawmaker who revealed he is gay after a recent arrest in Sacramento on suspicion of drunken driving, has spoken out passionately in favor of gay rights during a legislative session.

Ashburn, of Bakersfield, said Thursday he had to speak out after keeping his own sexual orientation hidden for years.

He asked fellow state senators to "rise above discrimination" and support a resolution asking Congress to scrap the current "don't ask, don't tell" policy and let gays serve openly in the military.

"'Don't ask, don't tell' is an issue that ought to be resolved," Ashburn told KCRA 3. "I mean, who are we kidding? Since the time of Julius Caesar ... there have been gay people in the military."

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http://www.kcra.com/politics/23700633/detail.html