The Human Tragedy of Larry Craig

Here we have a man that has obliviously struggled with his sexuality all of his life. Considering his age, he grew up in a time when homosexuality wasn't as accepted as it is now. Even now gays are still shunned by some within our society. Today gays are still fighting for their rights when it comes to employment, housing and the right to marry.

Lets take politics out of the equation for a moment and look at Craig as just an ordinary man with a wife and children. He married because he wanted to hide the fact that he was gay, he voted the way that he voted to hide the fact that he was gay. He plead guilty to hide the fact that he was gay.

I listened to the audio of his interview with the police officer and in it the officer basically tells him that he'll pay a fine and he'll be released. He went on to say something like I'm not going to contact the media or drag you into court. So Craig thought it would all go away if he just plead guilty and paid the fine, sort of like a ticket for jaywalking. My guess is if he fought this in court he would have won. I don't think he would have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, based on the evidence.

As a liberal and a registered Independent my hope is that people will feel compassion for Craig and his family and try to understand his actions. Yes, he was wrong to lie to his family and the police, but more importantly he was wrong to lie to himself about who he really is.