Mike Rogers's New Target: Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk/New Mark Kirk gay rumors arise

Mike Rogers's New Target: Illinois Rep. Mark Kirk
Copyright By Advocate.com Editors
Posted on Advocate.com June 01, 2010
http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/06/01/Mike_Rogers_Targets_Rep_Mark_Kirk/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+AdvocatecomDailyNews+%28Advocate.com+Daily+News%29&utm_content=Twitter


Following last week's historic House vote to begin the process of repealing "don't ask, don't tell," gay activist Mike Rogers has a new target on Capitol Hill.

Citing multiple sources in a Tuesday Blog Active post, Rogers, long known for outing closeted politicians with antigay voting records, alleged that Rep. Mark Kirk, an Illinois Republican who voted against DADT repeal, is gay.

Rogers wrote that following the DADT House vote on Thursday, several sources called him regarding Kirk's sexuality — including two unidentified men who claimed to have had sexual relations with Kirk.

Rogers also wrote that Kirk had obliquely disclosed his sexual orientation to him at a 2004 party in Washington, D.C.

"I was introduced to [Kirk] by the person I came with and at the time did not realize he was a member of the House," Rogers wrote. "As my friend walked away, Kirk asked me if the man who introduced us was 'single or attached.' When I said that he had a partner Kirk replied disappointingly, 'Oh, well.' At the end of that interaction I walked away and didn't think much of it at the time."

Rogers's previous outings have included Florida representative Mark Foley and Virginia representative Ed Schrock, who dropped his reelection bid in 2004 after Rogers posted explicit voice-mail messages from the two-term congressman made to a gay hook-up phone service.

A spokesman for Kirk has not yet responded to requests for comment on Rogers's post.

Kirk, a fifth-term congressman who is running for U.S. Senate, received an 85% rating from the Human Rights Campaign, in part for his support of hate-crimes legislation and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Kirk lost the group's endorsement for the race to fill the seat to be vacated by Roland Burris, however, after the DADT vote last week.

Read Rogers's post here.


New Mark Kirk gay rumors arise
Copyright by The Windy City times
2010-06-09
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php?AID=26852



Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mark Kirk is once again the subject of gay rumors, as blogger Mike Rogers—who has a reputation for outing politicians—is claiming that Kirk is a closeted gay man, according to Huffington Post.
On his site, Rogers' BlogActive, Rogers said that he is bringing up the issue of Kirk's sexuality after sources contacted him after Kirk voted against repealing "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." ( The LGBT-rights organization Human Rights Campaign is backing Kirk's opponent, Democrat Alexi Giannoulias, after Kirk's vote. ) Rogers is claiming that two men said they had sexual relations with Kirk while he attended college; Rogers also said that Kirk referred to his own homosexuality when they met at a party several years ago.

This is not the first time Kirk's sexuality has been discussed. In December, during the GOP primary race for President Barack Obama's old seat, Windy City Times reported that Republican Andy Martin claimed in a radio ad that "Illinois Republican leader Jack Roeser said there is a 'solid rumor that Kirk is a homosexual.'"

Kirk's campaign manager, Eric Elk, said in a statement that " [ t ] he ad is not true and is demeaning to the political process." In a press conference held Dec. 28, 2009, openly gay Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Jacob Meister criticized Martin.

Kirk recently told a WGN-TV reporter that he is not gay, and that people only make assumptions about his sexuality because he is divorced.

Meanwhile, Kirk has apologized for inaccuracies he has stated about his military career, according to the Chicago Tribune. Among the misstatements were that he served in the Gulf War and that he was attacked while flying missions over Iraq. Appearing before the Tribune's editorial board, Kirk said, "I would describe them as mistakes ... and for me going forward if you see a problem, fix it."