Republican Gay Sex Scandals

It's not a scandal for a supporter of gay rights to have same-sex relationships. But when Republicans publicly advocate and/or vote for anti-LGBT policies while privately engaging in same-sex relationships, that is a scandal. Sadly, the Republican party's hostility towards LGBT issues means so many Republican politicians have to stay in the closet.
Scandal Categories
Displaying 10 Scandals
Sorted by When News Broke
  • State Sen. Ralph Shortey [R-OK]
    paid for sex with a 17-year-old minor boy he found on Craigslist at a local Super 8 Motel while also being a married father with four young children and an avid supporter of Anti-LGBT legislation who proudly proclaimed he was a “family values Republican”
    01 Feb 2019
  • State Rep. Wes Goodman [R-OH]
    secretly had a sexual encounter with at least one other man in his government office and sexted and had phone sex with many more men while at the same time being a fervent advocate for "natural marriage" between a man and a woman who was also married to a woman
    21 Nov 2017
    According to an report by NBC News
  • State Rep. Randy Boehning [R-ND]
    sent nude images of himself to men decades younger than him on a gay dating website around the same time he voted against an anti-discrimination bill that intended to provide additional protections to the LGBTQ community
    29 Apr 2015
    According to private messages on a gay dating website provided by a young man he was in communication with
  • Family Research Council Minister George Rekers
    hired a twenty-year-old male to touch his genitals and give him daily nude massages throughout a European vacation after finding him on the "rent boy" escort website while also being a married pastor who publicly espoused virulently anti-gay sentiments
    06 May 2010
    According to an investigative report by the Miami New Times
  • State Sen. Roy Ashburn [R-CA]
    drove his taxpayer owned vehicle erratically in the middle of two lanes, needlessly applied his brakes multiple times and idled at a stop sign for roughly one minute while no cross traffic from either direction approached after he left a popular gay bar he had been drinking at -- while also being a vocal opponent of gay rights -- after which police pulled him over around 2am and arrested him
    19 Mar 2010
    According to charging documents filed by local police
  • State Rep. Bob Allen [R-FL]
    offered to perform oral sex on a random stranger in a public men's restroom for $20 mere months after he co-sponsored a bill that called for public sex offenses like this to be charged as a felony instead of misdemeanor offense
    10 Nov 2007
    According to charging documents filed by state officials
  • Pastor Ted Haggard
    hypocritically engaged in gay behavior including seeing a male prostitute for years and inappropriately touching an underage boy while also being an ardent opponent of gay rights
    01 Nov 2006
    According to multiple reports by mainstream outlets
  • Pastor Ted Haggard
    paid to have sex with a male prostitute on a monthly basis over a three-year period after finding him through an ad on the website "Rentboy.com" while also being a married father of five who was a vocal opponent of gay rights
    01 Nov 2006
    According to an exclusive report by The Denver Post
  • Rep. Mark Foley [R-FL]
    had sexual relations with two former male pages and sent dozens of inappropriate and sexually suggestive emails and instant messages to underage male pages over a yearslong period while also having voted in favor of numerous pieces of anti-gay legislation throughout his time in Congress
    15 Oct 2006
    According to voluminous reports filed by mainstream media outlets
  • Mayor Jim West [R-WA]
    tried to woo an 18-year-old man with gifts and other favors he found on the website Gay.com who turned out to be a professional investigator hired by a local newspaper while he was married and after having hypocritically spent two decades in the state legislature pushing anti-LGBTQ legislation
    05 May 2005
    According to an investigative report by The Spokesman-Review