In a move being called “courageous,”
Massachusetts State Senator Stanley C. Rosenberg has come out gay.
In a guest column about liberty
published in the July 4 edition of the Daily Hampshire Gazette,
Rosenberg described himself as a gay man, MassLive.com reported.
“I rarely discuss these facets of my
character because I don't practice identity politics. I practice
policy politics,” Rosenberg wrote in a column titled The Bay
State's Road To Equality.
“Five years ago, Massachusetts stood
alone as the birthplace of marriage equality in America. Today, five
states have joined us in providing full marriage equality.”
“I am proud to have been a member of
the Legislature that helped start this national movement, not just
because it marks the beginning of the eventual end to another form of
injustice, but because it marks what I consider to be another
milestone on our road to freedom – the eventual end to identity
politics. As a foster child who grew up as a ward of the state, as a
gay man, as a Jew, I understand what it's like to be cast as 'the
other'.”
John S. Baick, a history professor at
Western New England College, told the paper that while out
politicians risk political retribution from conservatives, making
such statements shows “personal and political courage.”
Rosenberg, the president pro tempore of
the Senate, was first elected to the Massachusetts House of
Representatives in 1986. During the state's 2004 fight for gay
marriage, he backed granting gay and lesbian couples the right to
marry.
The senator has declined questions on
the issue.