Former GOP Congressman Aaron Schock has officially come out as gay.
In a lengthy post published to Instagram and his website, Schock tells his story of growing up in a religiously conservative family, rationalizes his opposition to gay marriage while he was the Republican Representative for Illinois’s 18th congressional district, and offers an optimistic take on his future.
The news comes days after Schock was spotted yet again living as a seemingly out-and-proud gay man.
“I am gay,” begins his post.
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Of his time in Congress, he says:
“I did like I’d always done and threw myself into the distraction of work and what I once understood success to be. That included being responsive to the interests of the constituents in the district that I served. Perhaps correctly, perhaps not, I assumed that revealing myself as their gay congressman would not go over well. I put my ambition over the truth, which not only hurt me, but others as well.”
Related: Former GOP Congressman Aaron Schock spotted at Coachella making out with a guy
Schock justifies his former opposition to gay marriage as being a product of the times, a position once shared by other prominent politicians like John McCain, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Of course, none of these politicians had the personal insight of actually being gay.
The former Congressman does not address his other past antigay positions such as voting against lifting the ban on LGB people serving in the military and voting not to extend hate crime protections to include sexual orientation and gender identity. His time in office earned him a 0% rating on HRC’s Congressional Scorecard.
Related: Aaron Schock won’t be going to jail for corruption
He does, however, offer this purely hypothetical re-do scenario:
“The truth is that if I were in Congress today, I would support LGBTQ rights in every way I could. I realize that some of my political positions run very much counter to the mainstream of the LGBTQ movement, and I respect them for those differences. I hope people will allow for me the same.”
Schock also paints himself as a victim of “dog whistle” homophobia, fully denying there was any truth in his infamous Downton Abbey office decoration scandal.
He claims to have “never even heard” of the show, adding:
“It took me a while to figure out that it was really just the media’s own way in which they got to say that about me in print…to tie me to a stereotype. In fact, if you want to learn something about the “woke” media, Google my name and consider how prominently that fabricated lie, still without even a single source to back it up, will feature in stories about me by people who otherwise call themselves journalists. It was another way, albeit more sophisticated, to be teased about being gay. A dog whistle.”
Much of the criticism aimed at Schock has been centered around the fact that he’s been out and about enjoying freedoms won through the sweat and blood of a community he directly harmed during his political career.
“I can live openly now as a gay man because of the extraordinary, brave people who had the courage to fight for our rights when I did not: community activists, leaders, and ordinary LGBT folks,” he writes. “Gay bloggers who rallied people to our cause. I recognize this even in the face of the intense and sometimes vicious criticism that I’ve received from those same people.”
Related: Aaron Schock spotted at another queer party… but is anyone surprised?
He ends his post, which you can read here in full, by offering a personal story of his own family’s evolution:
“As for my family, I still get occasional emails trying to sell me on conversion therapy, but recently at our relative’s wedding, my mother told me that if there is anyone special in my life, she wants to meet them. I’m optimistic about the future and ready to write the next chapter of my life.”
We sincerely hope this is a meaningful first step for Schock and that his actions back up his apparent support for LGBTQ causes. For someone who made a career out of opposing the rights of LGBTQ Americans, discovering your truth and attending circuit parties does not atonement make.
Jim
Give me a break!
Taiyoken
lol, you said you wanted a break, and the bot responded. As annoying as these bots are, I admit, they amuse me.
James Hart
I agree with you.
Aaron Schock is truly a putrid person:
1. In order to get elected from a conservative Congressional District in Illinois, he willingly stepped on the gay community in order to advance up the ranks of the Republican Party; no one forced him to do that; he chose to do that.
2. His behavior over the past year, with photos of his hands down the pants of other guys, is in very poor taste and is unbecoming a thirty-eight year old former congressman; he also feeds into the negative stereotype that gay men are nymphomaniacs; that does not help our community.
3. His political and personal philosophies are built on hedonism, selfishness, hubris, social Darwinism, self-aggrandizement, and personal entitlement.
4. In his coming out statement, he’s full of self-pity and expects everyone to feel sorry for him because of his background and what he’s endured; he’s pathetic.
5. In that same statement, he now says that he’d support gay rights if he were still in Congress. Too late, Aaron. Plus, he knows that’s a lie because had he chosen to support gay marriage while in Congress he would have lost the nomination of the Republican Party and, thus, his Congressional seat in the very next election; he’s too self-centered to give up anything for anyone, least of all the gay community.
6. This cretin will do and say anything, like he did when he was in Congress, to be popular. He’s a congenital liar. At one time he wanted to be a popular conservative Republican Congressman, and now he wants to be a popular gay celebrity. Next, he’ll expect an award from the Human Rights Campaign. He’s disgusting.
7. If anyone has seen his Instagram and Facebook posts and pictures, they’d know the guy loves only one person: himself. He thinks of himself as a celebrity, however, he’s nothing more than a failed politician who escaped going to prison by the skin of his teeth.
8. People have written: He’d could be a great ally of the gay community now. Ridiculous. The Republican Party and the conservative movement will have nothing more to do with this self-serving, and very dumb, mannequin. He will not give us any inroads into those communities, and why would we want them anyway?!
Queerty: You’ve wasted too much space on this supercilious oaf. ENOUGH ALREADY!
JED08
Much too little, much too late. Him being a coward isn’t a good excuse.
stanhope
This guy is, was and always will be a douche.
ThomMc1965
In other breaking news, Schock stated that the sky is blue, the grass is green, and he is a hypocrite and a coward.
fur_hunter
Thom…..You should have said, ‘The sky is blue. The grass is green. He’s just a hypocritic Queen!’ It would have rhymed that way. HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE
AlanWatts
No apology for his voting record, no acknowledgement of the damage he’s caused LGBT people and youths across America, no commitment to righting his wrongs in any fashion.
fur_hunter
Alan….I hope the entire Gay Community totally ostracizes him. He’s a total ass hole.
redzebra1
fur_hunter there’s similar narcissists and hustlers like him. Esp. given many gay men’s weakness for ripped men so, he’ll be able to live it up despite what he did. I’ve never heard of a gay venue banning a former politician tat was anti-gay when in office and then ‘came out’. You have to be in an incident in the bar or nightclub and then get banned. Unless the staff will make an exception for him. I WISH!
thisisnotreal
Ok so…there’s a lot to unpack with this. Someone please correct me if I’m wrong cus I would love to know, but I went to his site to read the entire post he made from start to finish and…yeah…that wasn’t what our community was looking for or deserved from him. Call me cruel but his whole “story” felt like a lot of excuses, a lot of “this is why I did what I did”, and also a bunch of woe is me and my life moments. Not once in his entire post does he ever say the words “I’m sorry” unless I missed it, all he does is give a lot of exposition about his life to this point that is supposed to serve as background information to those of us reading about why he’s lived his life the way he has so far. You know what we call that? Justifications. and if you have to justify why you’ve made certain decisions in your life, then there’s a good chance they were the wrong decisions to make in the first place. And his justifications for why he made the choices he made were poor at best, and blame shifting at worst.
I was actually one of the people who was willing to wait around for him to finally reveal his truth to world and then apologize for the knife wounds he’s caused our community during his career and then I was going to accept his apology and move on from it. But after reading that post? Yeah that wasn’t an apology (which we all deserved) and it was by no means a genuine admittance of his errors (which shows a lack of humility and learning from his mistakes to me). I’m just one person and everyone is entitled to their own conclusions from him post, but to me? Yeah that wasn’t what I had hoped to get from him and I still feel like our community deserved a lot more from him, so for me he’s still in the doghouse,
redzebra1
It was a classic ‘non-apology apology’!
Granny Spoth
Aaron Shock was *never* a vocal opponents of LGBT rights.
This is a false, vicious narrative.
Mostly he just kept to himself and towed the party line.
This harassment of him is disgraceful.
getoverit
He has nothing to apologize for. Maybe you should explain why you feel you and the rest of the gay community feel they deserve special rights over the rest of Americans.
andrew.agee
Granny Spoth?
“Mostly he just kept to himself and towed the party line.”
It’s spelled “toed” as in “toeing the party line” which describes a person who speaks in a manner that conforms to his political party’s agenda.”
Troll…
Pp
Unless he redeem himself for LGBT community, his coming out is worthless.
SteveM
I agree. Unless he apologizes for all of the anti-gay things he did and said in the past, he should be rejected outright by all gay men and lesbians.
Jake123
Maybe it’s because I’m not American and haven’t experienced the hurt this man and others like him have caused but I actually feel really sorry for him.
Ttrotski
Empathy is always good in informing us but only when it reduces the pain in the world. I hope you feel sorry for him because he hasn’t the courage nor the morality to fully examine the grievous wrongs he has done to the people who made the life he is living possible while he was doing what he could to make it impossible. Were the forces he had aligned with to have their way, we would be stoned to death and tossed from rooftops just as ISIS had done.
batesmotel
Barack Obama was vocally against Marriage Equality when he was running for President, yet gays still blindly voted for him instead of Hillary Clinton who was in support of it. Obama only came around AFTER it became the law of the land, then put up the rainbow colors on the White House. Where was the ‘too little too late’ sentiment there? I’m aware that not everyone is the brightest bulb in the box incapable of rational discernment.
Donston
It feels like a greater betrayal when someone who is “gay” and someone overtly supports Conservative and anti “queer” agenda. While Obama admitted to being wrong. I understand everyone has their own circumstances, their own struggles, their own journeys. But some responsibility needs to be taken. Just a lil bit. He’s just interested in people feeling sorry for him and embracing him. But in general, I just don’t care. Let the man live his life. He’s no longer in office.
jayceecook
Fact check: Hilary didn’t endorse marriage until 2013. She is also married to the man who signed legislation into law which directly hurt LGBTQ citizens more than once. No. No she did NOT stand up for marriage equality when she ran against Obama.
shakes_head
You’ve predictably fallen right into his trap. Instead of asking for accountability from Schock, you’re now arguing about Obama’s stance on an issue he has embraced and helped progress.
jayceecook
Also, Obama endorsed marriage equality in 2012. Yes by then he was president and it would have no effect on his political career but if you want to play the game of the first person to say wins, well it’s Obama.
Jared MacBride
In 2007 Queen Hillary made a speech on the floor of the Senate proclaiming that marriage was between a man and a woman. That was also her position during the 2008 campaign. Obama backed off from previous support of marriage equality during the campaign. I’m unable to find any instance where, in Illinois or in the Senate, that he voted against marriage equality.
Cam
The job of the right wing troll account is to ALWAYS try to deflect from any post about a homophoic Republican or a Republican that did damage to the LGBTQ community.
Toofie
What does Obama have to do with this? Desperate to deflect from the fact a GAY man voted against gay people.
SoloMcDaniel
The majority of gay men will respond with “Too little, too late” but the second they run into Schock at a WeHo bar or event and he shows them the slightest bit of attention, they’ll be all school girl giggly and buy him a drink.
Ezapata
WRONG…
…I’ll let him buy me a drink instead!
Cato
He’s pathetic and refuses any accountability for his past. He ripped off tax payers and actively harmed the LGBTQ communities while he was in office. Until he acknowledges the damage he’s done and works to make amends, I have no time for him.
Jared MacBride
He doesn’t care, nor should he.
My2CentsWorth
All people, regardless of sexual orientation and etc., should have an identical approach that you have.
Taxiarch1
Everyone needs to Build a Bridge Bitches. This is not how we act, it’s not how do things.
How we come out and when is a God Given Gay privelege that we don’t legislate or prevaricate upon.
What do we do?
We take the love we are given with us and leave the rest behind- the anger, the pain, the betrayals, the bitchiness, all that gets washed away every day by LGBTQ people.
This is how our Nation remains Pristine, focused, able to do what has to be done to help humanity out of the trenches and move past its sins against us.
Offer Citizen Schock congratulations and say “welcome.”
-M
drumstick
Agreed. No one’s perfect.
Cam
Let him stop playing victim and apologize. Then ask me again.
MISTERJETT
typical
SELA Rising
why is it so hard for people to say “i’m sorry”? i aint buying what hes selling. this is not atonement at all. goes to show how much more personal growth and introspection needs to occur. work on yourself instead of making so many visits to the once repressed circuit queen dickbuffet. girl, bye.
shakes_head
Did he actually deflect blame to Obama for his several anti-gay votes in Congress? Did he actually blame the media for exposing his fraudulent spending habits as a homophobic smear? Did he actually not apologize at all for the harm he did to the LGBT+ community? How about instead of being a self-serving circuit queen and posting banal thirst traps, you use your privilege to help out a queer youth organization, or HIV/AIDs benefit?
trickster3737
Nope. Absolutely not. This thing needs to be thrown out to the curb with the garbage.
No forgiveness EVER for homophobic freaks like this POS. Period.
Y’all forgiving him because you think he’s hot.
How many Gay people are dead because of all the hate he peddled, because of all the laws he stopped, all the violence he gave the stamp of approval for: thousands.
but all you new gays will be like “it’s okay. welcome” NO. No it is not okay, it should not ever be allowed to be part of the community. It deserves nothing.
tennman
Mos of grew up just like he did but we had the balls to life our lives out loud and now as a coward.
This letter is a little too late
Joshua333
Yes and all the anti-gay things he did have now been magically waved away by the gay wand. Oh, wait, life doesn’t work like that, we still don’t like him.
fiftybuff
At least he didn’t marry a woman and subject her to the stand-by-your-man indignities suffered by so many Republican stepford spouses following a wide-stance episode.
G-Man
As far as I am concerned until he apologizes to the gay community for his past hateful transgression he can kick rock those excuses he is trying to pass off don’t cut it with me.
Josh447
What a sewer pit. How arrogant.
Non apology not accepted.
WSnyder
So Aaron Schock is human. And Gay. He disappointed many in the LGBTQ+ community for not being Out, for not supporting LGBTQ+ issues [Marriage Equality et al.] His statement says much and mostly nothing at all to us. An ‘imperfect’ Gay Man. Full of fear, some self loathing, ambition and quite a bit of hubris. He dared put himself and his self interests above those of the LGBTQ+ community. I didn’t approve of him in many ways, but I won’t nail him to his own cross because that’s not my role [or yous for that matter] to play. We’re ALL imperfect Gay men. We ALL put ourselves, in some form or another, ahead of the ‘Good’ of the LGBTQ+ community. If you think this is a piece to say forgive him now, you’re wrong. Aaron Schock is simply another person in our community who deserves neither praise or resentment. We often loathe those who reflect ourselves to some degree, images of the mirror we see and do not like because we expect perfection where none exists. Now that he has come out, it’s time to leave him alone and let him chart his own reconciliation with his family and his future. But nailing him a cross is no way to set an example of how this community should treat those who have a hard time [even if self imposed] coming out and those who where at times an ‘enemy’. Time to Move On.
Cam
Your phrasing is interesting. The issue isn’t that he didn’t support LGBTQ issues. The issue is that he actively voted to harm us.
Funny how it takes on a different look when you word it correctly.
My2CentsWorth
I agree with Cam. That is the issue.
trickster3737
I am happy to nail IT to the cross. I have the hammer and nails ready…
No forgiveness EVER. IT belongs down the sewer.
redzebra1
He doesn’t deserve resentment? Not for his voting record? LMAO, right wing troll!
LetsGetLit
Am I the only one that thought he was Jewish?
jayceecook
I never thought he was Jewish but I didn’t know he was raised in the Apostolic Christian Church. But what I know of the ACC, I pity every LGBTQ person who has had that belief system forced on them on their road to adulthood.
jayceecook
I dunno. I need to re-read his statement a few more times & spend time digesting everything he wrote. A lot of it IS problematic but somewhere in there are some seemingly genuine & relevant revelations & points. I’ve always believed that everybody deserves the benefit of the doubt at least once in their lifetime. I don’t know this man so I don’t want to be too quick to bash on him, as much as I sometimes wanted to in the past.
Josh447
I understand what you’re saying. I’ve been on the bandwagon of let this guy grow in his own right. Maybe I’m just becoming impatient since it’s been years now. But then having his entire family come down on him for being gay could not have been easy. And the guilty he would sustain in his case as a public figure would be huge so maybe taking on the guilt of what he did to the gay community is too much at once and that is still a problem. We may see more from him soon as he digests more of his guilt and whisks it away
jayceecook
@Josh447 See the thing is, I’m not getting any sense of guilt over his voting record while in congress or his lack of addressing all the issues surrounding him for years. I know that every LGBTQ person has to come out on their own terms. As a public figure that is embroiled in a scandal where his sexuality is being called into question unfortunately means you probably will have that taken away from you.
I’m also, as of right now, getting the impression he would probably not have come out publicly had eagle eyed gays with cameras not caught him indulging in the “lifestyle” he voted against. To his friends and family sure. His behavior over the past year or so doesn’t necessarily reflect the words he typed in his coming out of the invisible closet he thought he was in. People might be a little more forgiving had he not spent so much time being a part of, or trying to be a part of, the community without ever acknowledging his past mistakes first. As I said, I’m conflicted.
The one thing I’m not conflicted over is the amount of hate speech I’m seeing here and on other LGBTQ sites. I thought we were supposed to be better than this. I’m seeing so much Trumpian style attacks it scares me. Like not only has his vitriol emboldened the right but now the left is starting to sound just like him. That might be worse than anything Aaron Schock did or didn’t do.
sillyme
For some people it just takes a little while longer to get the words out for saying “I’m Sorry” but those will come and as such I think that he will change his whole attitude of looking and reflect back on what he’s done and how then will make the correct changes to things 1 at a time and work up to a very big or bigger change in things and in such will also do a 180 turn about and maybe start to say things slowly and grow up to become more or less a man to fix the damage he’s done in his state then to those he’s really hurt besides himself. Nobody heals overnight it takes time to heal and some of you should know that by now and if you don’t then you also have a great deal to learn in life still. How many people have you hurt in your life and said I’m sorry to and worked to help make things better or are you all just a large group of bitchers that get off on complaining all the time about what you feel is right. It’s like walking you take 1 step at a time and learn how to walk first and then you learn how to run from there and some may need to look back on where they came from, for I think he’s in need of a 2nd chance to prove himself.
My2CentsWorth
It has been many months since he was revealed to not be the person he pretended to be. This statement should have included what others in these comments are demanding.
SteveM
That bozo will probably be rejected by the Republican Party and should also be ignored by all gay men and lesbians in the US.
TimothyBeauchamp
Where’s the “I’m sorry” or “making amends”? He supported pilicies that got me kicked out of Navy for being gay. Let me ruin his career and see how he feels about it? He needs to be exiled from our LGBTQ community and released when he loses his looks.
redzebra1
And ‘my responsibility”! Right wing people looooove to scream about ‘individual responsibility’! He acknowledges NONE here. It’s a classic ‘non-apology apology’.
jrh311
What I read is a guy who grew up in a strictly religious family was afraid to acknowledge his sexuality and he spent most of his life alone. And turns out he had reason to fear coming out because the only constant people in his life turned their back on him when he did. While he did hurt the gay community with his actions as a congressman, he also suffered as a fearful, closeted man. Sounds like he wants to be a better man now that he’s finally come out. Why don’t we just let it go and let him live a better life? People can make bad decisions when they make them out of fear.
Cam
Then let him apologize.
My2CentsWorth
Some good points but his statement should have included what people are commenting on. It is one thing to not acknowledge one’s sexual differences but it is another thing to actively go after people.
Granny Spoth
Cam: He apologized about that.
He was never particularly vocal against LGBT people.
He just towed the party line in his votes, and for that he is clearly sorry.
Apolodorus
To be honest we need all the help we can get nowadays. Dark days are upon us, and if we can get one more person to be out and living his life openly, we should accept it.
I’m not saying “forgive him”, because there is a lot to amend, and showing yourself in shorts won’t heal wounds. But let’s take the win. One more person felt comfortable enough to come out. And the ripples of that will be felt in a demographic that might not have reachable before.
My2CentsWorth
I wonder what are the reactions from his conservative colleagues to Schock. Are any of them wondering if maybe they are wrong? The majority of them (including, no doubt, some who are also like this guy) have been busy passing laws against LGBTQ and others.
djmcgamester
I don’t think most Republicans are passing anti-LGBT+ laws. Some do and we hear about them. I also don’t think any of them as especially reflective of their demographic. I know enough Republicans, conservatives and people I’d characterize as “religious right” to know it’s not generally the case. I know extremely religious conservatives who I’m close to.
Please, and I urge this always, let’s stop this black and white divisiveness we’re all dead set on maintaining. It’s not helping. It’s not winning anyone over. It’s doing the opposite since everyone digs their heels in. Let’s look for our common ground and move from there.
Jared MacBride
He’s being quite disingenuous about the outcome of the indictment against him. The facts are that he entered into a deferred prosecution agreement which required him to pay back $68,000 and admit to inflating or falsifying expense reports. That’s a far cry from being exonerated.
As to the life he led before, he’s far from being the only gay person who ever constructed an alternative reality about themselves to hide who they are. I hope he is truly done with that, can enjoy the rest of his life and will strive to make a positive impact in the community.
shanfrina
… Poor Baby ?!?! No Sympathy here. Shoulda “Maned-Up” a damn long Time ago!!!
jsmu
JFC!
jsmu
This dripping little C U Next Tuesday just ‘came out’ (when everyone on earth knew for a decade because of his wh*ring at circuit parties) and expects some kind of party now? Treat the miserable little quisling Kapo collaborator BEEYOTCH like the outcast refuse he is!
jsmu
See the Daily Beast article on how corruption, rich Daddy-O’s money, and incompetent prosecutors let Schock go free when he should be serving eight to ten.
Chevelter
An “I am sorry” is nowhere to be found. Can he please find a rock to crawl under and take Jussie Smollett with him?
My2CentsWorth
He and Jesse need to acknowledge the wrong that they did.
PoetDaddy
I have list of people I am considering forgiving for crimes against the LGBTQ community. People stay on the list a LONG time. For example: Eddie Murphy is still on the list (and as long as his homophobic video is still on sale, he’s staying on it). Schock’s not even on the list yet. And I don’t think I have enough years left to actually forgive him. Am I sympathetic to his personal journey? Sure. I don’t judge who does or does not come out and/or when. But I don’t forgive his legislative history of annihilating us. Does he care if I forgive him? Probably not. But I would never vote for him. I could never trust him. I don’t want to know him. I don’t really ever want to hear his name again or see a shirtless photo of him playing with a hot celebrity. I could probably enjoy news items in which he is humiliated, however, or made to pay for his past iniquities. That might make me slightly more inclined to leniency.
GymMan456
The news are very fresh, its his first statement, so there might come more.. and its needed.
If i were a journalist, I would find him very interesting, his insight in the worst homophobic environment would be intriguing to tap into and also write about.
Cam
“”“The truth is that if I were in Congress today, I would support LGBTQ rights in every way I could. “”
A lie, the GOP has gotten even MORE hostile to LGBTQ people. He happily went along with them before.
Then Shock is apparent still hung up on the Downtown Abby office decorations.
“In fact, if you want to learn something about the “woke” media, Google my name and consider how prominently that fabricated lie, still without even a single source to back it up, will feature in stories about me by people who otherwise call themselves journalists. It was another way, albeit more sophisticated, to be teased about being gay. A dog whistle.””
1. Still the Republicans, mocking “Wokness”, and as for their not being a single source…..um…..EXCEPT FOR THE DECORATOR WHO TOLD THE STORY.
So, still lying.
Good for him for coming out, but any there is no bravery associated with coming out when he’s already been outted and denied it, attacked other LGBTQ people and is still spouting the right wing attacks on people being “Woke”.
How about instead of playing victim, he jut apologizes for trying to harm LGBTQ people.
@dusyk
Why should I even care!
Mack
As usual when we have a Homocon coming out we have Homocons attacking President Obama. You got more rights under President Obama than any other President.
frapachino
Lots of self righteous unforgiving people in here! As I mature I find myself more forgiving! And no I in no way condone his past hypocrisy!
Cam
Sweetie, you’ve defended every right wing bigot who attacks the LGBTQ community, so don’t think you can come in here and pretend you are evolved. You’re just a troll defending a self hating bigot who voted to harm us and refuses to apologize.
redzebra1
Cam yaaaas, they’re out again! Anything to deflect from these closeted bigots and the GP from what they do!
yah_sure_youbetcha
Y’all know the cachet that muscle has in the gay community. Now… imagine what an awful person you’d have to be for a body like that to not matter. That’s Aaron Schock.
She can’t sit with us.
j41005
I, too, was raised in a conservative Christian (LDS) home. I grew up hearing about the abominations of the gay lifestyle and how homosexuals are destined for an eternal hell. I married, had kids…doing everything “society” expected. Then one day, I knew I could not keep living my lie. After getting a divorce I came out to my entire family and everyone was open, loving and accepting. My ex and I are best friends to this day and she’s mentioned that she’s never known me to be happier.
However, I never worked against the LGBTQ community. Maybe I was just a wrong because I never spoke up either.
Each person must walk their own path and what seems right at the time for one may not be right for another. We should not judge. I see a lot of folks within the LGBTQ community judging and hating people; the very thing we fought against.
RandomGuy
Aaron can’t be trusted he’s still a loyal Republican above all else and should be shunned by the gay community for the pain he’s caused and will most likely continue to cause.
trsxyz123
To have sided with the anti-gay agenda, all the while being closeted, and in 2020 is really unforgivable. I could consider forgiveness if an apology was offered…
wikidBSTN
THE TURDIEST TURD IN ALL OF TURDDOM.
Kangol2
Aaron Shock is a wretched hypocrite who wants to benefit from the “struggle” against homophobia while never apologize for his own anti-gay actions, behavior and beliefs. What a heap of flaming GOP crap!
omacdonald
This isn’t news. Even Helen Keller could have figured it out.
djmcgamester
Glad he finally did it and acknowledged he would do things differently. It’s worth noting that he no longer seems to have a good relationship with his family. If you’re looking at a guy coming from a religious background and trying to live up to the expectations of those around him, you can see why he might do what he did.
Is this meant to say he was right? Not even remotely. Still, it’s worth putting yourself in the shoes of another. I was lucky enough, back in 1992, to come out to a resounding “Oh. Cool.” No one cared, I lost no friends, my boss loved me and I never encountered any issues anywhere at any time in my life.
If I’d had that intolerant background? Don’t really know what I’d do, especially if I feared losing my family and community. That’s a hard thing to do and not everyone is strong enough to be able to stand up for themselves.
Chipper
As I read thru the different posts. One thought came to me, He that is without sin cast the first stone. We all have our journeys, that now will not be the same for everyone. Each has his own path to walk. Just because some of you grew up different paths that this one did. Each must come to terms with their life, in their own time. People change, and are enlightened at different times in our journey. None are exactly the same, we can only suggest how we would act, but unless you walk in his shoes you do not know what has happened in his life. We, do not need to judge, because we are not him, and when we say we would have done it this way or that way. We did not walk in his shoes. What is passed is past. and can not change, am I holding up for him, no. But each must work our their on course, and we all make mistakes, some more than others. But, each will come out or not in their own time. Lets see how he goes from here. That will tell us how sincere is really is. Lets see how he does, and then make an informed decision. There are things in each of our lives that we are not proud of. Lets see where he goes from here.
David
Really?… This queen again? Ok …..
First of all, congratulations to Schock for finally coming out publicly,.. No really… I mean it. No one is in any position to judge the comming out journey of anyone else. Coming out is as much about how you feel about yourself as it is who you tell about yourself so I am glad to see AS moving in a postive direction of self – acceptance..
That being said…
Self jusitfication is not the same thing as self acceptance. Schock has lived an incredibly privileged double life. Much of it at Taxpayer expense. His rambling Insta-sermon was dripping with an overwhelming sense of entitlement . What is remarkable about AS is his honest belief that because he is what many gay men would consider good looking, THAT is some sort of get out homophobic asshole jail free card. As if having Abs is more relevant than having a concience or ethics. And the ugly truth that many of us don’t want to admit is…. in many corners of our Gay World, apparently it is.
If Schock didn’t look like he does, he would have vanished completely from our collective public Gaydar with his resignation from congress years ago. But the sad truth is a disgraced ex congressman from Peoria IL who posts shirtless selfies , rates more column inches in gay online media oh… say LGBT activists in places like places like Asia and Africa who risk their lives every day to make the world a better and safer place to be Gay,
I get it, the idea of holding Schock accountable for his actions while in office that hurt our community is very appealing. I cant help but think the best way to do that is to simply ignore him.
redzebra1
He needs to be loudly called out & booed and jeered out of venues and events!
Gandalf The Grey
I think that since among other things he voted for DADT for gays in the military. And now gays can finally serve in the military. I can think of nothing better for him to start showing his repenting then to enlist and check off the box that he wants to be in combat. We’ve been in Afghanistan for 19 years with no sign of withdrawing, let him go and serve there. For 8 years or so. Then we’ll see some evidence that he’s a changed man!
Jack Meoff
Guess who must be planning a new career path in the media or some other public forum and needs to redeem himself first for the sake of his career. Massive eye roll.
am
Really? He must redeem himself? How? Should he offer his a*s to every gay person in America? It’s not like his vote was decisive or would change outcomes of all the things he was against. And gay marriage is a shame anyway. We fought for freedom and recognition and what? Now we want to imitate heterosociety and follow their norm and traditions?
Anyway why not let him alone? All these personal attacks here just prove that the gay community is full of mean spirited, envious, hateful people. Eye for eye is a barbaric law, not of the civilised people. I always thought that gays are better than this.
nitejonboy
Fuk this moron straight to hell, pure trash and always will be..thinks the rules don’t apply to him…hope he continues to get the cold shoulder and now that he’s out, hope his precious Trump abandons him as well,.
Gandalf The Grey
Hear, hear!
Josh447
It’s clearly the case that Shock is a class A homophobe.
He obviously hates he’s gay along with hating the gay community. Loves the sex. Hates the gay.
He didn’t really just come out. He got busted cruising and sexing with men long ago. And got caught. That’s called “being outed”. “Coming out” now is simply a forced hand from being outed long ago.
People don’t apologize to people they hate. Especially class A homophobes.
t
I hate what he stood for and what he has done to our community but what happened to forigveness and chances. In my personal experience, I struggled to acknowledge that I was different and had to lie about who I was until I finally came out on my own terms. I say give him the chance to acknowledge and redeem. If he doesn’t choose redemption and acknowledgment, well anyway, what kind of timeline do we give the guy? Yes, he still sucks as an “official” member our community but the healing needs to start somewhere, just as it did with us.
redzebra1
He’s had ‘a chance’ for years! And even after being pictured and denounced for when at Coachella…..silence for a year…..then a classic ‘non-apology apology’!
redzebra1
A classic ‘non-apology apology’.
The phrasing is easy to my mind “For any and all victims or people that suffered from the enforcement of laws I voted to uphold I am sorry for that was done to you and shall endeavour to reverse it as an activist or political candidate” THERE! EASY!
But no! Just casually says he and the GLBTIQ rights movement have “had some differences”. PATHETIC!
redzebra1
Whenever people see him at venues or events SHOUT! Call him out! Denounce him loudly and draw attention to him! obviously hard if there’s loud music, but if it’s quiet it’s ideal. DENOUNCE him if you see him! Hopefully the crowd will boo and jeer him out, that’s what should happen!
getoverit
And you have just proven my point why gays are disliked by people.
My2CentsWorth
Hello,
I don’t think that this is true of all homosexual men:
“The fact that he was unmarried, dressed well, posed shirtless on the cover of Men’s Health, and had an office that was decorated to look like a room in “Downton Abbey” all led to speculation that Schock was gay.”
The version from the New York Daily News
Onecaddy13
Well Duh!!!!! Where’s the breaking news???? He really doesn’t deserve a platform.. If he cannot be true to himself, how can you be honest and true with everyone else? I’ve been “DONE” with this liar for over a year. No second chances for this one.
scotty
bye felicia! pfft
Georgeiv2
Too little too late This I hesitate to say ‘man’ caused so much pain in the Gay Community by actively blocking legislation because he lacked balls !!!! Whatever happens now will never erase that from history
I am 77 and although I never came out formally I never hid it or denied it but treated it as normal , which I considered it to be, always introducing my long term partner as such He worked for a large Government Department and fort tooth and nail to unsure equality gay co-workers .
dustashed
let’s give him a break.. he is family now afterall. we all make mistakes– and we have the capacity to forgive, or at least i believe we do– and we should.
Forgiveness is the power that the aggrieved holds– and it requires not the repentance of the wrongdoer
and it has the capacity to heal not only them but ourselves as well
dhmonarch89
so if a family member treated you like shit for years, you would just forgive them/let it go even if they didn’t apologize for their actions toward you? Wow- that’s being a doormat, not forgiving.
Josh447
Josh447
He’s a republican politician meaning, he has already planned for eons how he is going to handle this situation with the lgbt community.
I was in your thinking a while back but now it seems his moves have an agenda w sub plots and I’m not impressed. He’s running a negative publicity game he’s well aware of. He is very aware of the begging he bathes in to apologize. And he is well aware he is still hurting people. He’ll apologize when he sees a benefit for himself.
Hmm, sounds like a republican president I know. Very psychopathic very dangerous.
Gandalf The Grey
He Is Not Family And Never Will Be!
dhmonarch89
I posted a comment yesterday, but it was removed- I forgot how god awful Queerty was!!! Here it is again…I guess all the dick pic and jo videos he’s been sending out over the last year (google it- there are dozens) on hook up apps has gotten in the way of his coming to grips with all the harm he’s done.
getoverit
Maybe you should explain how he harmed you.
Gandalf The Grey
‘ve been following the story on the Facebook LGBTQ page apparently people from his home town say it was a badly kept secret. So he’s been enjoying himself all along while hurting the LGBTQI+ community. I truly hate this effing hypocrite! He not only betrayed us but he betrayed his constituents by embezzling campaign funds and all Americans for embezzling public funds (i.e. taxpayer money)! And what has he done to repent for his attack on our community for those years? NOTHING! Absolutely NOTHING! After being given a sweetheart deal to avoid being prosecuted by paying some of the money back ($100,000) that he embezzled he went on Instagram and denied everything saying he was being persecuted for being a gay man! I will never welcome into our community and I will never forgive him! Let him go join the Log Cabin republiKKKons and embezzle their money! If this loser ever starts up a charity of his own don’t forget that he’s embezzled money before so don’t give him any. And to all those forgiveness and second chances people out there: Should we also forgive Trump, Pence, Putin, Hitler and Stalin while we’re at it? I could go on at length but you get the idea!
getoverit
It seems you don’t understand that marriage is actually about procreation and since two men cannot procreate by themselves and two women cannot procreate by themselves there is no reason to allow them to marry.
taoalwyn
listen, don’t judge, try and empathise.
by all means let him know you’re angry but just lay off the hate that is coming through. it makes us no better than the likes of GOP/ Christian fundamentalist.
let him know what’s expected is apology & act of contrition.
show him how to be a better human being.
Josh447
If he had it to do all over again, he’d do the same thing.
I think you’re being a bit naive. It’s been years now, are you aware of that?
Midtownny1
Aaron needs to go work for the Trevor Project. The photos of sun bathing, partying and body building make him look insipid.
Gandalf The Grey
Why? So he can hook up with some twinks? So he can embezzle their funds? I wouldn’t let him near The Trevor Project!
one more thing
I don’t care what his sexuality is, he just seems to be a shallow person doing the Instagram thing, steroids, and partying all night. That is not a shining example for the conservative movement. Really disappointing – it seems he just wants to be a 40 year old go-go boy……..
Gandalf The Grey
I agree and then some!
getoverit
What is truly shocking is that the posts here clearly show that their are more hypocrites and hatefulness in the gay community than in any where else. For the morons out there Aaron doesn’t owe any of you or the gay community an apology. If anyone owes anybody and apology it would be the individuals that have repeatedly tried to out him. His private life is just that, private. Everyone wonders why people dislike gays and the comments here actually show why. It seems that gays everywhere think that everyone should believe what they believe and do what they do, and if that were true every American would either be cruising a park, visiting a bathhouse, at a white party, or tweaking the days away on meth. Gays do not need special rights. If you want the rest of America to accept you and get behind you then you actually have to accept them and respect what views they have even if you do not agree with them. And before you queens start bashing me, FYI Aaron is hot no matter what you all say and I would do him in a heartbeat.
Josh447
Only a person who lacks moral character, attacks victims of right wing predation, doesn’t study facts bc he thinks he knows it all, I. E. Trump, would come to such insane conclusions.