Another "Family Values: Republican Gets Outed - By Himself

I do not want to sound mean spirited and I truly feel sorry for the wife and family of Southaven, Mississippi, Mayor Greg Davis, who basically "outed" himself via the travel expense receipts he tried to charge back to his city. It seems some of the charges were made at Priape, a store in Toronto, Canada, that is described on its website as "Canada's premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop." Oops!!! Sadly, Davis is all too reminiscent of former local Congressman Ed Schrock who ran on a conservative anti-gay platform and had the second most anti-gay voting record in Congress - even as he was out trolling for gay sex trysts. Truth be told, Davis' wife and children are victims of his stupidity. But Davis and his family are also victims of a f*cked homophobic society that (i) hangs onto ignorant writings attributed to nomads from 2000+ years ago and (ii) too often rejects modern medical/mental health knowledge on sexual orientation. Davis no doubt felt he had not option but to marry and have children. I've been there and done that myself. However, before coming out I at least did not deliberately cheat on my wife and openly live a lie. Better to have lied a life of self-denial that be a hypocrite. The Commercial Appeal looked at Davis' outing of himself. Here are highlights:

Receipts from embattled Southaven Mayor Greg Davis reveal that he had the city pay for wide-ranging expenses including thousands of dollars worth of liquor, expensive dinners at a local restaurant and a visit to an adult store catering to gay men while on a recruitment trip to Canada.

As details emerged Thursday from the receipts, provided by state auditors to Southaven aldermen and subsequently obtained by The Commercial Appeal, Davis conceded publicly for the first time in an interview with The CA that he is gay and has struggled to keep the issue from affecting his public life as mayor of Mississippi's third-largest city.

"At this point in my life and in my career, while I have tried to maintain separation between my personal and public life, it is obvious that this can no longer remain the case," Davis said Thursday afternoon at his Southaven home.

I think that it is important that I discuss the struggles I have had over the last few years when I came to the realization that I am gay."

As for the receipts, Davis, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2008 on a conservative, family-values platform, said he couldn't discuss specifics on the advice of his attorney.

[A] review by The CA shows that Davis spent thousands of dollars at the Mesquite Chop House in Southaven and thousands more at local liquor stores. Also included in the receipts is a charge for $67 at Priape, a store in Toronto that is described by its website as "Canada's premiere gay lifestyle store and sex shop."

"The only apology I would make to my supporters if they are upset is the fact that I was not honest enough with myself to be honest with them. But I have lived my life in public service for 20-plus years, and in order for me to remain sane and move on, I have got to start being honest about who I am."

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans, a national organization for gay and lesbian conservatives, said he hoped Davis would still be seen as the same person. "What would be helpful to the mayor is if the community recognizes that he is still the same person," Cooper said. "This is a part of who he is that people just didn't know."

I wish Davis and his family well and hope for the day when individuals no longer feel the need to live a lie in a desperate effort to please the expectations of church, family and society. So many lives and families have suffered needless hurt because of the homophobia that drives men and women to try to be straight when in their hearts they know that they are not.