Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank on
Thursday refused to comment on the rumor that South Carolina Senator
Lindsey Graham is gay.
During an appearance on C-SPAN's
American Journal, a caller
named Frank from Largo, Florida told Frank that he was concerned that
closeted lawmakers could be blackmailed during critical budget talks.
“In terms of the
budget, I feel that many members of Congress may be compromised or
blackmailable because they are in the closet about their sexual
orientation, like Senator Lindsey Graham. And I was wondering, how
many people in Congress do you think are compromised in that nature?”
“I have no
comment to make about any individual, and no knowledge about any
individual,” Frank responded. “There are some members of
Congress who have not made that public.”
“Increasingly, if
you're a Democrat … you pay no penalty for being honest about your
sexuality,” Frank said.
“The problem is
on the Republican side. Because the Republican Party has become
increasingly opposed to the notion of legal equality for people who
are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. … The Republican Party
will tolerate them as long as they don't appear to be happy about
it.”
“Essentially
their attitude is, 'OK, we understand that you can't help it but
please … hide it,'” he added.
(Related:
Senator
Lindsey Graham, 'I Ain't Gay')