GOP Lawmaker Resigns After “Inappropriate Conduct” With a Man in His Office
Ohio State Rep. Wes Goodman frequently talked about his Christian faith and family values, so I suppose it was only a matter of time before he resigned in disgrace following inappropriate conduct… with a man.
Goodman, whose name has already been removed from the website for the Ohio House of Representatives, resigned after it was discovered that he had consensual sexual contact with a man in his Riffe Center office. That makes two Ohio lawmakers to fall within a month, according to the Columbus Dispatch.
House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger, R-Clarksville, met Tuesday afternoon with the Cardington Republican soon after the speaker became aware of an incident from weeks ago in the lawmaker’s office that, sources said, involved a male in a consensual situation…
“I was alerted to details yesterday afternoon regarding his involvement in inappropriate behavior related to his state office,” Rosenberger said in a statement on Wednesday. “I met with him later in the day where he acknowledged and confirmed the allegations. It became clear that his resignation was the most appropriate course of action for him, his family, the constituents of the 87th House District and this institution.”
As for Goodman, the 33-year-old republican who said on his campaign website that “values-driven families” are the source of “Ohio’s proud history,” he said everyone brings their own “struggles” and “trials” into public life.
“That has been true for me, and I sincerely regret that my actions and choices have kept me from serving my constituents and our state in a way that reflects the best ideals of public service… For those whom I have let down, I’m sorry. As I move onto the next chapter of my life, I sincerely ask for privacy for myself, my family, and my friends.”
Of course he wants privacy. He just resigned after it was made clear that he was a hypocrite of the highest caliber.
To be clear: the problem here isn’t that Goodman might be gay (who cares) or that he had a consensual affair (that’s between him and his family). The issue is that he campaigned on a platform that oppresses LGBTQ people, using buzzwords aimed at delegitimizing that community and elevating “traditional families” as the answer to all our problems, but had no problem, apparently, having a same-sex affair in his taxpayer-funded office.
Thankfully, Ohio has one fewer hypocritical conservative Christian among its lawmakers. Let’s just hope they fill the seat with someone who isn’t willing to live a lie, and hurt their constituents, because of their own hang-ups.
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As a follow up, this article makes it clear that this guy was much worse of a person than previously understood.
An 18-year-old college student said Goodman “pushed” him to come back to his room at the hotel, then offered to share his bed. When the teen woke up in the middle of the night, he was surprised at what he found.
In his written statement, the young man said he awoke in the middle of the night to find Goodman’s hand “pulling down my zipper.” His pants had been unbuttoned and his zipper was down. He darted from the room at about 4 a.m. “I was shaken, dazed, confused and very upset,” he wrote.
More importantly:
This is how people protect predators, and it’s part of the reason this type of behavior gets so far.
You would hope people whose entire career is built on “family values” and the idea of holding the moral high ground would be first in line to call out those who are accused of assault. Instead, Goodman was elected and his alleged assault was swept under the rug. That is, until mainstream media reporters were willing to uncover what Tony Perkins never would.
GOP = Gross Old Perverts
Apparently, it was open information that this religious hypocrite met men via Craigslist. He used the name Brad Murphy on gay classifieds. Any bets that he also had an account on Grinder?