This is another version of the minority politics argument, with the added dimension that whether homosexuality is a trait or a behavior, it manifests itself pretty much exclusively as a behavior. If a gay person dies young, and has no external indications of his sexual preference, an autopsy won’t currently discover his sexuality; it’ll merely tell you his gender. You’d find out he was gay by talking to his friends or family.
The issue, as always, is whether a person should be allowed to hold a certain opinion, if he belongs to a particular minority group. Blacks essentially are required by the media, in some fashion, to be anti-death penalty, among other things. Hispanics must favor loosening immigration laws. Arab-Americans are of course opposed to the Patriot Act; Jews are assumed to support the state of Israel no matter what it does. Women are at least in some controversy if they’re not pro-Choice, though more female politicians have bucked that one than most of the rest on this list. And of course gay people *must* be in favor of gay marriage. If they aren’t, they must be self-loathing or something, because no one who opposes gay marriage can be gay, and just expressing an opinion. There must be some agenda behind them, to cause them to espouse an opinion that’s so obviously not theirs.
I’ve always disliked the “outing” process anyway. And yes, gay politicians deserve their privacy, just as other public figures do. If they wish to be open about their choices and preferences that’s their business, but if they choose not to be open, that too is their choice. My old Congressman is thought to be gay (he’s a Republican from Southern California) and a few election cycles ago, we got a nasty piece of political mail from a Pac, which was trying to deny him reelection by referring to his “gay lifestyle”. The flyer included some pics of the congressman with his supposed partner (who’s also one of his staffers) in swimming suits on a beach somewhere, shot with a telephoto lense ala Jackie O. I don’t think he’s much of a homophobe, though I don’t think he’s much of a gay right activist either, and I believe he doesn’t support gay marriage.
Either you think that no one can represent anyone who is different, or you think Congress should have an ethnic, gender, and preference quota in its representatives, which would get pretty convoluted and confused. I say we pick the best person for the job, and ignore their personal life, except insofar as it impinges on their ability to serve the public. The guy who was picking up underaged teenagers in the train station can stay home.
