Is Lindsey Graham Gay?
He's a bachelor, after all.
getty When a woman reaches a certain age and isn’t married with children, people are quick to blame them for their “shortcomings.” But rarely do we assume that these women are lesbians or are not attracted to men. The same can’t always be said for men because more often than not, people believe the real reason is because they are gay.
And such is the case for Senator Lindsey Graham. But is Lindsey Graham gay, or has he just chosen to avoid marriage altogether for another reason?
Most of the Senators serving our country have spouses, with the occasional exception. Heck, Cory Booker isn’t married, but we don’t see people assuming he’s gay because of it. (Plus, he has a girlfriend, so there’s that.) Gay rumors have plagued Lindsay Graham for years — not just because he doesn’t have a wife, but because of his beliefs toward gay marriage and homosexuality.
According to research and analysis, men who are homophobic are more likely to be closeted than those who don’t preach hate against the LGBT community. One study, published in the April 2012 issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, came to a conclusion.
“Sometimes people are threatened by gays and lesbians because they are fearing their own impulses, in a sense they ‘doth protest too much. In addition, it appears that sometimes those who would oppress others have been oppressed themselves, and we can have some compassion for them too, they may be unaccepting of others because they cannot be accepting of themselves,” co-author Richard Ryan explained.
For example, just look at the probably dozens of anti-gay individuals who have been caught engaging in same-sex acts. In the last few years, Ohio lawmaker Wes Goodman, who preached about his Christian faith and anti-gay views, resigned after being caught having sex with a man in his office.
Former Oklahoma state Senator, Ralph Shortey, also resigned after allegedly soliciting sex from a 17-year-old boy. In 2006, anti-gay marriage advocate Ted Haggard was involved in a gay sex scandal, and in 2010, George Rekers, an anti-gay activist and co-founder of Family Research Council, was seen with a male escort.
Is Lindsey Graham gay? He’s actually spoken out about these allegations multiple times, denying that he is. As recently as last week, on National Coming Out Day, he responded to a tweet posted by comedian Chelsea Handler, insinuating that he was homosexual.
Though Handler wasn’t making fun of others, just pointing out the hypocrisy of Republicans, Graham told a TMZ cameraman, “It’s a free country; she can say what she wants to say, I don’t care. I don’t think much about what she says at all. She wants to live her life that way, it’s up to her.”
When asked if he thought Handler was comparing “homosexuality to being evil,” he was quick to point out he was not gay. “Number one, she knows zero about me. To the extent that it matters, I’m not gay. And these comments... I don’t think they reflect well on her and I don’t know how it makes us a better country, but it’s up to her, not me.”
In the past, Graham has also used humor as a defense mechanism when asked if he was gay. In 2010, he told The New York Times, “I know it’s really gonna upset a lot of gay men — I’m sure hundreds of ’em are gonna be jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge – but I ain’t available. I ain’t gay. Sorry.”
Samantha Maffucci is an associate editor for YourTango who focuses on writing trending news and entertainment pieces. In her free time, you can find her obsessing about cats, wine, and all things Vanderpump Rules.