Recently out Arizona senator told “be more gay” by colleague
“She questioned my integrity. She said she was glad I came out, but that I should be more gay. I’m more offended that she questioned my integrity.”
— Arizona state Sen. Steve Gallardo, speaking with Arizona Capitol Times, regarding a closed-door caucus meeting in which Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford questioned Gallardo’s honesty with regards his sexual orientation. Gallardo came out in March after announcing his intention to run for Congress, which prompted Cajero Bedford to push for a vote to remove Gallardo from his post as Senate minority whip.
Cajero Bedford claims her comments were intended as a joke. “I said, ‘You ought to act more gay,’ and he said, ‘I can’t.’ It was an attempt to be sort of neutral. I’m fine with him being gay or not.” She also elaborated on why she tried to have him removed from his position as minority whip. “He’s running for office and staying in leadership, and he wasn’t (at the Capitol) all last week. He voted to put Landrum Taylor out, and now he’s doing the same thing. That’s a question of honesty.” Taylor was Gallardo’s predeccesor as minority whip, and was voted out of office after announcing her bid for Congress. Cajero Bedford’s vote to remove Gallardo failed 3-8.
Image Credit: Michael Schennum, The Arizona Republic
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