U.S. Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) Outed As Gay

The number of conservative Republican politicians who vote against LGBT equality yet are outed as members of the LGBT community has increased by one. John Barrasso, the Republican U.S. Senator from Wyoming has been outed as a gay man by Mike Rogers, who has an impeccable record of being correct.

This weekend Rogers posted this tweet:

Curiously, when contacted by media outlets and blogs Rogers just says "my tweets stand on their own."

New Civil Rights Project provides a brief profile of Sen. Barrasso:

Barrasso, who earned a zero percent rating from HRC, voted against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. He also voted against reauthorizing the Violence Against Women this year, which includes protection not only for women, but for “underserved populations” including sexual minorities and Native Americans. And he voted against the bipartisan expanded background checks bill that 91 percent of all Americans support.

Sen. Barrasso is also the chairman of the Republican Policy Committee, which pretends to be a legislative think tank, publishing policy papers like “Obamacare Exchange Opens Door to Fraud and Identity Theft,” and “Democrats Target Family Farms for Death Taxes.”

Senator Barrasso, 61, is a Presbyterian, divorced, remarried, and has three children. He is up for re-election in 2016. He is on Facebook and Twitter.

Sheesh. With the presence of openly lesbian Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, barely closeted Barbara Mikulski and previously outed Mark Kirk could LGBT people be actually over-represented in the United States Senate?

Sen. Mikulski Tweets DOMA Repeal Support

Closeted United States Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland) was previously the subject of a petition campaign to get her support for the Repeal for Marriage Act, federal legislation which would repeal the so-called Defense of Marriage Act, has announced (via Facebook and Twitter) that she will indeed sign on to S. 598.

The Washington Blade reports:

In a statement provided to the Washington Blade via e-mail, Mikulski confirmed she’s a co-sponsor of the legislation.

“I am proud to co-sponsor legislation to repeal key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act,” Mikulski said. “I believe all Americans are entitled to equal protection under the law and all of our citizens deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.”

She continued, “The Respect for Marriage Act, S.598, will allow couples who have a legal marriage in a state to have the same federal protections as every other married couple. This includes the right to receive spousal benefits under Social Security; to file joint federal tax returns and to take leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act when a spouse falls seriously ill.”

Mikulski’s support brings the total number of co-sponsors for the Respect for Marriage Act to 30. In July, the Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the repeal legislation and how DOMA, which prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage, burdens gay couples.

Last month, a coalition of LGBT rights groups — Freedom to Marry, the Courage Campaign and Equality Maryland — delivered a petition with names from nearly 3,000 Maryland residents to Mikulski’s office calling on her to support DOMA repeal.

Hat/tip to TowleRoad.