leather weather

Sen. Scott Wiener flashes his abs at Folsom & once again right-wingers are completely losing it

Image Credit: www.sd11.senate.ca.gov

Every year, San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair—which celebrated its 39th anniversary this past weekend—is an anything-goes, sex-positive celebration of leather culture, BDSM, and almost every fetish and kink in between.

And, if your kink happens to be bumping into half-naked elected officials in public places, then you were in luck: For the second year in a row, out and proud California State Senator Scott Wiener was spotted taking in the fair’s sights and sounds (and smells).

The 53-year-old Democrat is one of the state’s most high-profile lawmakers, representing the 11th Senatorial District—which includes San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County—since 2016.

In what’s becoming something of a tradition, Wiener once again spent the first weekend of fall visiting with thousands and thousands of his constituents (and out-of-town visitors, no doubt) at Folsom.

While he was photographed shirtless at the festivities in 2022, this year Wiener was sporting a leather vest (so formal!) paired with dark-wash denim, Converse shoes, and a fashionable pair of sunglasses.

And, can we just say? You can bounce a quarter off those abs, Senator—or maybe even sign some bills protecting our LGBTQ+ community on them!

“Senator 8-pack,” comments one constituent on Instagram. “Working the washboard, Senator!” adds another.

Wiener commemorated the weekend with a handful of posts on social media, one of which features him standing amongst friends (and some side-cheek) in the middle of the Folsom celebrations.

In another post, the legislator calls Folsom “one of the best days of the year in San Francisco,” and is pictured at Donna Sachet’s 25th Annual Folsom Leather Brunch alongside local drag personality and activist Donna Sachet, as well as Sister Roma, one of the Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence.

But it’s not all smiles and sunshines, whips and harnesses; would you believe Senator Wiener’s photos from Folsom have right-wingers in a tizzy?

Just like last year, ultra-conservative internet users couldn’t bare the sight of an elected official’s pectorals in public, so they decided to log on to share their homophobic disgust with the world. (Were these people just as upset last week after Lauren Boebert got handsy at Beetlejuice? Just saying!)

When they’re not relying on tired “Folsom Prison” jokes or being outright homophobic, many are veiling their bigotry with the old “but what about the children!” line, tsk-tsking the State Senator for supporting an event that allows for public nudity. Of course, the street fair is very clear that no one under 18 is permitted into the event—though we don’t expect these people to actually do any research, reading, or critical thinking…

Thankfully, there are just as many allies and members of the community showing their support for Wiener and his weekend plans. The only person he’s really letting down is a user by the name of @fitnessgayz, who seems disappointed the lawmaker chose not to rock a harness once again:

After Wiener’s presence at Folsom last year caused an uproar, the State Senator spoke with The Advocate and shared why he’s not backing down:

“This has been going on for me for years,” he said at the time. “There are a number of pictures of me shirtless from as far back as 2016 that they’ll recycle all the time. It’s just straight-up homophobia.”

“I’m a gay man. I’m a single gay man,” he added. “I enjoy life, and sexuality is part of human existence. If they have a problem, that’s their issue, not mine, and they need to get a life.”

Considering he attended Folsom again this year—and posted about it—even after all the blowback, it seems Wiener really is unbothered by all the haters.

See your at Folsom in 2024, Senator! And don’t forget the harness!

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