Not everybody is so thrilled David Campbell, the Australian lawmaker and transport minister, was videotaped leaving a gay sex club after spending two hours inside doing who knows what. Namely, the upset parties include Campbell’s family and, of course, gay activists!
Australian Marriage Equality’s Alex Greenwich says the videotaped footage broadcast on Aussie television news programs amounted to a “gay witch hunt: “Whether he is gay, bi, curious or confused we need to appreciate that anyone of his generation grew up in a very homophobic Australia, both in terms of social attitudes and laws. Any gay person knows how hard it still is to come out. This man has dedicated much of his life to public service, and without any understanding of the psychological issues associated with someone of his generation being able to be comfortable with his sexuality, he is being condemned by the media for walking down the stairs of a gay establishment.”
It sounds a bit like that now-dead Indian professor who was videotaped having sex with another man — for the sole purpose of bringing down his career, an act that was widely condemned.
The litmus test for outing politicians that we’re comfortable with comes down to whether these folks are voting against the gays. Was Campbell? Though he’s been described as a “family values” politico, we’ve yet to see reports that he voted against LGBT equality legislation. Even our Googling turned up little. Any help?
How about we take this to the next level?
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Comeoutwhereveryouare
Expose all hypocrites!
billygfa
If he was promoting ideas that were anti gay, then yes he should be outed but if he was not then NOone deserves to be outed if they are not working against the community. EVER. There is no excuse.
Chris
As an australian citizen I can assure you he wasn’t ‘anti-gay’
He was grand Marshall of any gay pride parades, but he certainly hasn’t voted against us in any LGBT oriented legislation.
Chris
oops, that was meant to be wasn’t grand marshall
Bubba
Dirty old man.
SouLKid
meh!
Michael vdB
I think this is a touchy subject for sure. Sexuality is a personal thing, especially when it comes to the generational divide (Brothers and Sisters did an excellent job bringing that to light). If a person has a record of being anti-gay and have taken it to the next step of spewing hatred, then yes….they should be outed. The litmus test should be his record. Did he vote against gay issues? Was he spewing anti-gay hate?
On the other hand, the hypocracy of being a “family values” kind of guy with a wife and kids does not give you the right to fool around. It doesn’t matter if you are gay or straight. Unless they had an open relationship, there is something called respect for the other person that should always be considered.
Either way, a man’s life has be thrown to the wolves. It always ends up being messy.
Lamar
His privacy is a human right I agree with Billygfa, only if he is threatening our ability to manage our own private lives (e.g gay sex, adoption, marriage etc.) should he be revealed. Leaving a gay sex club doesn’t make you anymore gay than a gay leaving a straight sex club either.
Joe
Any phony hypocrite that condemns the gay community in any way, Should be ousted. No questions asked.
Its like You secretly love and cant live without our religion, But you make sure the world sees your hand on the gas chamber switch.
Its a modern day phenomenon why these people act the way they do
in the first place. Its a growing trend that needs to be stopped.
Blazing Sun
Who was having sex with this man? Do the Asian boys have low self-esteem in Australia, too? Ick.
B
QUEERTY wrote, “Though he’s been described as a ‘family values’ politico, we’ve yet to see reports that he voted against LGBT equality legislation. Even our Googling turned up little. Any help?
Try reading the comments section of your first article on him. Australians claimed he was not anti-gay and that “family values” means something different in Australia than in the U.S., where the term is doublespeak (a hate campaign packaged to sound positive).
http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/Prod/Parlment/Members.nsf/d890a06557517cedca256e700008765e/5d427a6111fc700e4a256760000caa11?OpenDocument has his official web site. I would guess that his “family values” consisted primarily of his duties as “Chairman, Committee for Children and Young People”.
Mihai Bucur
He cannot even be described as “family values” politician. He was a relatively progressive politician who voted FOR every single piece of LGBT rights legislation put before him.
He voted in favour of the recent legislation on registered domestic partnerships in New South Wales, which provide couples with nearly all of the rights of marriage. He also voted to equalise the age of consent in 2003.
During his time as police minister, he also supported efforts to step up anti-homophobia and anti-hate-crime strategies in Sydney.
Despite leading a double life and cheating on his wife, he was never an enemy to the LGBT community (indeed, he was not even “neutral” – he was somewhat of an ally).
Fitz
Anyone who actively works against our reasonable demand of fair-treatment deserves whatever we can throw at them. I am so sick and tired of the wamby-pamby whimpy free-to-be-you-and-me pacifist. Gay Kids Die Because Of Homophobia. This man acted on his internal pain instead of coming to terms with it. He made things worse for a vulnerable population. He deserves flaying, but since that isn’t allowed- Outing will have to do.
David Gervais
I fall in line with Billygfa and Chris:
He deserves, no, is entitled to the same respect for his privacy as any of us do.
Unlike Rep. Christopher Lee, the Republican from New York, there is no hypocrisy here to justify the story.
Based on what is reported here, it seems to me the Judge very correctly limited the TV network as tightly as possible in favour of David Campbell.