Political Candidate Comes Out as Gay, Does it with Pride

We live in a society where it's still considered controversial to be a politician and gay. That unfortunate reality makes one candidate's decision to be honest about his sexuality all the more brave.

Democratic Representative Mike Michaud, who represents a conservative part of Maine, has come out as gay in an op-ed column published in three of his state's major news outlets. If his gubernatorial campaign is successful in 2014, he would become the first openly-gay governor to be elected in the U.S.

"I wasn't surprised to learn about the whisper campaigns, insinuations and push-polls some of the people opposed to my candidacy have been using to raise questions about my personal life," he writes. "They want people to question whether I am gay."

"Allow me to save them the trouble with a simple, honest answer: 'Yes I am. But why should it matter?'"

"That may seem like a big announcement to some people. For me, it's just a part of who I am, as much as being a third-generation mill worker or a lifelong Mainer," he continued. "One thing I do know is that it has nothing to do with my ability to lead the state of Maine."

Michaud is now the seventh openly gay member of Congress, and joins Heather R. Mizeur, an openly gay Democrat from Maryland, in seeking a governorship. Only one state governor has ever come out - New Jersey governor Jim McGreevey, who announced he was gay during his resignation speech in 2004.

"I was brought up believing you should judge a person based on the content of his or her character, not by their race, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation," writes Michaud. "That's a value I know most Mainers share."

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