Is Olivia Cajero Bedford Asshole of the Day?
Is Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford asshole of the day for telling her colleague to "act more gay"?
Sen. Olivia Cajero Bedford questioned Sen. Steve Gallardo’s honesty in regards to his sexual orientation in a closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday and said Gallardo should “act more gay.”
Gallardo told Arizona Capitol Times that Cajero Bedford, D-Tucson, questioned his integrity because he only recently announced that he was gay and said he should not stay in a leadership position while running for Congress. Cajero Bedford later called for a vote to remove Gallardo from his post as the Senate’s minority whip, which failed 3-8.
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Cajero Bedford said her comments about Gallardo needing “to act more gay” were an attempt at humor: “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,” Cajero Bedford said.
However, she said that she felt his keeping his sexual orientation a secret was a matter of honesty.
“Why was he hiding it? It wouldn’t have made any difference,” she said.
Gallardo dismissed Cajero Bedford’s comments about his sexual orientation, but her comments did shock lawmakers, he said.
“It took people back,” Gallardo said. “It sucked the air out of the room.”
http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2014/04/01/az-dem-sen-olivia-cajero-bedford-tells-gay-colleague-steve-gallardo-act-more-gay/
Gauging by the reaction of the room, she wasn't joking, and only claims to have been now once she saw the reaction.
In any event she was challenging his honesty and integrity for not coming out sooner, with complete disregard for how hard that may have been or whether coming out sooner may have meant discrimination or even violence.
Photo source: http://www.azleg.gov/MembersPage.asp?Member_ID=27&Legislature=50&Session_ID=102