Last week, I wrote about California State Senator Roy Ashburn, who was caught driving drunk as he left a gay bar.

Well, in what is a refreshing change for Republicans,^* he has admitted that he is gay:

“I’m gay,” State Senator Roy Ashburn told a radio host from his central California district in an interview this morning. “Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.”

Ashburn, a divorced father of four, said that his many votes against gay rights were efforts to represent the conservative views of his constituents.

This is the most evil bit of nastiness that I’ve heard in a while.

We all harbor our own prejudices, and the best that one can hope for is to recognize them for what they are, understand that they are wrong, and not act on them.

While I understand how people can hate for irrational reasons, it’s worse to hate for a rational reason.

This man did not have an irrational hatred and fear of gays, but he led anti-gay rallies.

He did so for the most prosaic of reasons: He wanted to hold elected office.

^*But not outed Democrats, see McGreevy, James.