Quote of the Day: GOP State Rep. Mike Fleck: I’m Gay

Coming out is never an easy process, especially if one has been subjected to religious brainwashing and has been active in today's GOP where gays are largely treated as lepers.   Such is the journey of Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Fleck (R-Huntingdon) publicly acknowledged Saturday that he is gay, making him the first openly gay Republican lawmaker in Pennsylvania. PoliticsPA.com has full details.  I suspect that while Fleck knows that he's the same person that he was before he came out, the Christofascists in the GOP will view things otherwise.  In his coming out release, Flecked made some very true statements that more closeted men need to take to heart:

While his professional dreams were becoming reality, Fleck said he was also weathering personal battles, namely his same-sex attraction which, contrary to all he believed and was taught, remained.

“So I just prayed harder and put it in God’s hands,” he said, adding that as one of the county’s most visible couples, the unresolved feelings and pressure of public scrutiny took its toll and Fleck opted for therapy.

“I sought out treatment from a Christian counselor, but when that didn’t work out, I engaged a secular therapist who told me point blank that I was gay and that I was too caught up in being the perfect Christian rather than actually being authentic and honest,” Fleck said.

He said the hardest part of the process has been reconciling his faith with his sexuality.

“Through years of counseling, I’ve met a lot of gay Christians who have tried hard to change their God-given sexual orientation, but at the end of the day, I know of none who’ve been successful,” he said. “They’ve only succeeded at repressing their identity, only to have it reappear time and time again and always wreaking havoc not only on themselves, but especially on their family.”

Fleck said once he was able to be honest with himself, he could finally be honest with others, because no one in his life had any clue about his personal struggle, not even his wife.

Being honest and authentic is far superior to living a lie to either please others or some version of a God who, if he hates his own creations, isn't worth worshiping in the first place.  Hopefully, if Fleck wants to remain an active Christian he will find a gay accepting church and flee the poisonous belief system that he seemingly was raised in.