Deeply Closeted, In More Ways Than One

Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu was a rising star in conservative Arizona politics. A tough man; a he man; strong on illegal immigration; a true conservative.
Who. it also turns out, is a gay man.
Who, it also turns out, was involved in a relationship with an illegal immigrant.
And now, both those closet doors--the Conservative, hardline on immigration stance one, and the Gay one--have blown open after it was revealed that Babeu's lover says the sheriff threatened to have him deported if he revealed their relationship.
Babeu denies any wrongdoing, of course, and says he'll to continue his battle for the GOP nomination in an extremely conservative rural congressional district. But what does this say about people trying to be something they aren't, and how damaging it is, not just politically, but personally.
He's a gay man in love with an illegal immigrant, living in the body of a conservative right-wing anti-immigration body.
The upside, given that his political career--in arch-conservative Arizona, at any rate--is probably over, is that Babeu, who heretofore has never spoken on LGBT rights, is now in favor of them:

"I can be a supporter and get out there and help articulate as we progress as a culture and a society, that there should be individual liberties and there should be individual freedoms. For any other person to define somebody else's relationship and say it not OK, that is not who we are as Americans."

Too bad he didn't realize that a long time ago.
Think of all he might have done, for the LGBT community, and for the rights of immigrants, had he just been open with himself. The stigma and shame that some members of the straight community impose on the LGBT community, is nothing when compared to the stigma and shame closeted gay men and women impose upon themselves in an effort to stay hidden.
It never works out for the best.

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