Aaron Schock, the former Republican
congressman from Illinois, came out as gay on Thursday.
Schock, who previously denied rumors
about his sexuality, made his announcement in an Instagram post.
“I am gay,” Schock
wrote.
The former congressman explained that
being candid about his sexuality was difficult for him because he had
been raised in an Apostolic Christian home.
“My parents did their best to raise
me and my siblings according to biblical tenets as they understood
them,” he said.
Schock went on to criticize the media
for comparing his elaborately decorated House office to Downton
Abbey – “It was another way, albeit more sophisticated, to be
teased about being gay. A dog whistle.” – and justify his
anti-LGBT voting record by claiming that his opposition to marriage
equality while in office was similar to views once held by former
President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
“That fact doesn't make my then
position any less wrong, but it's sometimes easy to forget that it
was leaders of both parties who for so long wrongly understood what
it was to defend the right to marry,” he wrote.
(Related: Aaron
Schock talks Paul Ryan physique as he strolls through gay
neighborhood.)
Schock's announcement came just days
after he was photographed
in Rio de Janeiro sunbathing with out circuit party promoter Eliad
Cohen.
Schock added that his family rejected
him after he came out to them.
“As for my family, I still get
occasional emails trying to sell me on conversion therapy, but
recently at our relative's wedding, my mother told me that if there
is anyone special in my life, she wants to meet them. I'm optimistic
about the future and ready to write the next chapter of my life,”
he wrote.
Schock resigned from Congress amid a
scandal involving his use of campaign funds. Prosecutors indicted
Schock on 24 criminal counts but all charges were dropped last year.
(Related: Aaron
Schock's dad says his son is “a little different” but “not
gay.”)