Mark Kirk has denied a claim by
prominent outing blogger Mike Rogers that he's gay.
Kirk is the Illinois Republican
representative who lost
a critical Human Rights Campaign (HRC) endorsement after he voted
against repeal of the law that bans gay troops from serving openly.
The gay rights group decided to back Illinois Treasurer Alexi
Giannoulias, Kirk's Democratic challenger for the Illinois Senate
seat once held by President Barack Obama, after Kirk voted against
attaching a “Don't Ask, Don't Tell” repeal amendment to the
defense budget bill late last week.
“Mark Kirk told me he was gay,”
Rogers wrote on his outing blog BlogActive.com.
In the post, Rogers claims that Kirk
asked him about the situation of a gay man during a D.C. party in
2004.
On Thursday, Kirk denied the allegation
during an on-camera interview with Chicago CW affiliate WGN.
When asked why bloggers continue to out
him as gay, Kirk responded: “Because I guess I got divorced, but I
hope to remarry one day.”
“To a woman?” the reported asked.
“Absolutely,” Kirk replied.
Rogers said Kirk's vote against repeal
of DADT prompted him to act now.
Last January, Kirk faced similar
allegations by his GOP primary opponent, Andy Martin. Martin
accused Kirk of being gay and, ironically, that his allegiance was
owned by gay rights groups. Kirk also denied the allegation at
the time.
Recent polling puts Kirk and
Giannoulias in a virtual dead heat.