UPDATED: Not surprisingly, according to new reports from the Indianapolis Star, Hinkle appears to be receiving pressure from the GOP to resign:
"I strongly recommend that Representative Hinkle resign his position," said Marion County Republican Chairman Kyle Walker, "so that he can focus on his family and not have this situation detract from that or the work that needs to continue in his legislative district."
Andy Harris, Wayne Township trustee and former Wayne Township GOP chairman, said the people he has spoken to in Wayne Township are "just shocked and floored."
"It is not something they expected from Phil Hinkle," said Harris, who attends St. Christopher Catholic Church with him and considers him a friend. "But if found to be true, he definitely needs to step down. . . . There's no way I could support somebody running for an elected office doing that to their spouse and their family."
How many of those who are "shocked and floored" are still contributing to the Catholic Church? Hinkle's conduct is nothing compared to the criminal conspiracy that has unfolded under the Church hierarchy in covering up the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children and youths.
ORIGINAL POST: Once again it seems those who are the most anti-gay in the public political lives are the ones actually out trolling for gay sex. As Bil Browning at Bilerico reports, the Indianapolis Star has "outed" Indiana Republican representative Phil Hinkle for offering a teenage boy $80 for sex after finding the young man on Craigslist. It's beyond hypocrisy and while many may disagree with me -as some of you have let me know in the past - I believe that every last one of these bastards needs to be exposed for the liars and hypocrites that they are in fact. They do untold damages to the lives of other LGBT citizens and, I'm sorry, I find it impossible to find even a tiny shred of sympathy for these people. It's one thing to be in the closet. It's something all together different to be in the closet and trolling for gay sex even as one is pushing legislation to harm other LGBT citizens. Here are highlights from the Star's coverage:
Emails shared with The Indianapolis Star suggest that state Rep. Phillip Hinkle -- responding to a local posting on Craigslist -- offered a young man $80 plus tip to spend time with him Saturday night at the JW Marriott hotel.
The emails, sent from Hinkle's publicly listed personal address, ask the young man for "a couple hours of your time tonight" and offer him cash up front, with a tip of up to $50 or $60 "for a really good time."
The email exchange is in response to the Craigslist posting in which the young man -- who lists his age as 20 in the ad but says he is 18 years old -- says, "I need a sugga daddy."
The young man told The Star that they met, but that he tried to leave after the man told him he was a state lawmaker. He said the lawmaker at first told him he could not leave, grabbed him in the rear, exposed himself to the young man and then later gave him an iPad, BlackBerry cellphone and $100 cash to keep quiet.
When contacted by The Star about the emails, Hinkle, a Republican who represents portions of Pike and Wayne townships, did not contest the emails but said, "I am aware of a shakedown taking place." Asked what he meant by shakedown, Hinkle would not elaborate. He directed further questions to his attorney.
The young man, Kameryn Gibson, told The Star he posted the Craigslist ad in the "Casual Encounters" section under m4m, which is shorthand for men for men. He used his adopted sister's email address.
Gibson said he and the man met but that they did not have sex. He and the sister, Megan Gibson, flatly denied any shakedown. "I wasn't shaking him down, at all," Kameryn Gibson said. Megan Gibson said she contacted The Star because she thought Hinkle's actions were "creepy" and, given his stature, that his actions should be made public.
Megan Gibson also provided the email exchange, which she forwarded to The Star. She also allowed a reporter to inspect the emails, which she had kept, on her smartphone. The phone contained not only the email exchange but a call log that showed phone calls from numbers that match both Hinkle's cellphone and home phone.
When Megan Gibson arrived to pick up her brother, she again threatened to call police and the local media. Kameryn and Megan Gibson said Hinkle then offered his iPad, a BlackBerry and $100 in cash.
Megan Gibson said that on the drive back, she began receiving a series of calls on the BlackBerry, including one from a woman who said she was Hinkle's wife. "I was like, 'Your husband is gay,' " Megan said. "And then she was like, 'You have the wrong person.' " Megan read her the email address: phinkle46 @comcast.net.
The line went silent. "Just for a couple seconds," Megan Gibson said, "and the first thing she said was, 'Please don't call the police.' " Phone messages left with Hinkle's wife late Thursday were not returned.
Assuming that Hinkle's wife did not know about her husband's hypocrisy and double life, then she does have my sympathy to some extent. The blame in that situation all lies with her husband. On the other hand, if she knew and did nothing to rein in his anti-gay voting agenda, then I'm sorry. She bears culpability as well.
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