AZ Senate Minority Whip Steve Gallardo discloses he is gay (and running for Congress)

Sitting in the Senate Caucus room with a handful of reporters a week and a half after he delivered a rousing speech to activists protesting against an anti-gay measure at the Capitol, state Senator Steve Gallardo says it's time to announce his sexual orientation.

"I'm gay, I'm a Latino, and I'm a senator," he says, his voice quavering with emotion. "And it's okay."

Watching activists fighting against SB 1062, a bill that provided legal cover for business owner who chose to discriminate against gays and transgender persons, inspired him to speak out, he says.

Brewer vetoed the bill, but Gallardo says the debate was "actually a game changer."

"After I stood up on the floor and argued against 1062, as I've done on many bills before, I sat down and said, 'Wow. This bill affects me. It affects me directly.'"


http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2014/03/senator_steve_gallardo.php


xposted in GD