Maine Rep. Mike Michaud says coming out
gay has been a positive experience.
The 58-year-old Democratic congressman
came out publicly last week in an op-ed, making him the 7th
openly gay member in the U.S. House.
“People know me as Mike,” Michaud
told the AP. “They know my issues are veteran issues, economic
development, health care and jobs, and nothing is going to change.”
Michaud, who is hoping to unseat Maine
Governor Paul LePage, a Republican, next year, said he came out to
address a whisper campaign about his sexual orientation.
“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?'”
he wrote in his op-ed.
Michaud told the AP that he informed
his mother that he was gay just hours before coming out publicly and
that he does not have a partner.
“I don't have a very exciting life,
other than public work,” he said, adding that his private life is
“boring.”
(Related: Barney
Frank calls Mike Michaud's coming out important for Maine gay teens.)