Thread: Ariz sheriff says he's gay after misconduct claims

Originally Posted by googler

If a man wants to marry another consenting male adult, they're not hurting anyone else in doing so so what's wrong with that?

A man can do whatever he wants with another man. But it is not "marriage". Sorry to offend your oh-so-delicate Millenial sensibilities.

JohnDoe2 wrote:

Arizona Sheriff Paul Babeu denies threatening to deport lover

The ex may be lying because if he's a victim he gets a greencard

Very good point and it is a he said, he said kind of a situation. The illegal was lawyered up and contacting the media and has an obviously agenda.

Reminds me of Meg Whitman and her housekeeper.

Growing up in California I have had many friends who are homosexual. Just like any group of people there is good and bad. I am upfront with the fact that I personally do not believe in gay marriages. It goes against my religious and moral beliefs. While I do not condone homosexuality I have tried to leave final judgement in Gods hands. By pushing us into accepting gay marriage as the same as marriage between a man and woman they are forcing us to make that judgement.

As far as what an exlover says about Sheriff Babeu I will reframe from making any quick decisions. Believe me there is nothing like the wrath of a exlover - especially a gay exlover.

Originally Posted by dogpile

A man can do whatever he wants with another man. But it is not "marriage". Sorry to offend your oh-so-delicate Millenial sensibilities.

Yea...right....

Anyways, this country is moving in the right direction with regards to gay marriage. Republicans better wake up or they're toast. And frankly the implosion of the sad excuse of a party might be a good thing for this country. Maybe finally we'll get a couple of worthy parties out of it.

That photo reminds me of Anthony Weiner without hair.

Sheriff Babeu Explains Former Relationship, Racy Photos

Updated: Tuesday, 21 Feb 2012, 7:54 AM MST
Published : Monday, 20 Feb 2012, 5:28 PM MST

MESA - Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu made a name for himself nationally with his tough stance on immigration issues. He testified in Washington several times on border issues, and in January announced he's running for Congress.

But now, he's facing some tough allegations that could cost him support from voters. On Friday, Babeu's former male lover went public with their relationship, releasing semi-nude photos of Babeu and saying the sheriff threatened him with deportation if he made their relationship public.

Babeu has denied making those threats, but was forced to admit he is gay and supports gay rights.

We spoke with Sheriff Babeu himself Monday afternoon.

Babeu says he wants to be as forthcoming as he can about this scandal. He held a press conference on Saturday when the news first broke, admitting he is gay, and explained his former personal and work relationships with the accuser. Jose, who claimed the sheriff threatened him with deportation if word of their relationship came out, admitted he is in the country legally.

"He committed the crimes [hacking Babeu's website], and I have proof of that. I did not say any of this [deportation threat], the evidence is I don't have that authority. I have lawful authority. I took no lawful action, I went to an attorney. This is documented here and he complied... further evidence this is nothing but a personal political attack that's slanderous, and I'm not ashamed of who I am."

As for the racy photos, Babeu says they were for one person's eyes only.

"Any photo was given to a person deliberately for them, not for public consumption. When people have compared this to Congressman Weiner, Congressman Weiner is married, and he lied about all these things, and it was proven that he lied. What did I do? Within 12 hours of this... I told the complete honest truth... and I've shown evidence to back up everything going on here," Babeu told FOX 10.

Sheriff Babeu points to emails that prove the relationship with Jose ended last year with no threats issued. In an email to Babeu's attorney, Jose allegedly admits to having account information and willingly turned over passwords.

“Does somebody who is in fear of me, after 8 months of being away, would they hack into my website, would they steal my twitter account, would they do all of these things that are criminal? Absolutely not.”

While Sheriff Babeu does damage control -- you would assume his opponents are benefiting from the scandal. But donations are pouring into Babeu's campaign.

Babeu's campaign manager says they're getting more donations than ever. He says this is new territory here -- a conservative Republican sheriff who's gay and running for office in Arizona.

The revelation won't stop Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu from running. Despite the scandal, Babeu's campaign manager says he's had more than $5,000 dollars in donations from more than 50 donors this weekend alone. Only one in 10,000 donors has asked for their money back.

Babeu wrote on his Facebook page: "The outpouring of support over the past couple of days really means a lot of me." His Facebook page has more than 17,000 "likes."

Hundreds of people have posted comments on his page -- some supportive, others not so supportive.

“I don’t think that any other police officer would get away unscathed if they were taking nude or semi nude photos of themselves and sharing those with other people,” says State Senator Ron Gould, who is running against Babeu for the Republican nomination for Congressional District 4.

He believes this scandal will hurt Babeu's campaign.

“He doesn’t have a voting record, so we really don’t know what he thinks at all, but apparently his social values are not conservative social values.”

Gould says most voters in District 4 are very conservative and against gay marriage or gays in the military.

“What you need to focus on is not so much the homosexuality angle, it’s the fact that it’s a character issue. He’s shown that his character is poor. He has poor judgment,” says Gould.

Paul Gosar is also running for the Republican seat. He didn't want to comment about Babeu today.

The primary election is in late August. Babeu says he's focusing on the campaign.

"We were ahead ten points over an incumbent member of Congress and so the timing is more than suspect."

Sheriff Babeu Explains Former Relationship, Racy Photos

“What you need to focus on is not so much the homosexuality angle, it’s the fact that it’s a character issue. He’s shown that his character is poor. He has poor judgment,” says Gould.

This was the point I was trying to make in my previous post on this thread. His gayness is secondary to his lack of and poor judgment.

Babeu calls for joint investigation into allegations
by KTAR Newsroom (February 21st, 2012 @ 5:54pm)

Embattled Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu has called for a joint investigation into allegations made against him by a former lover.

In a letter released to media, Babeu asked Gila County Sheriff John Armor and Gila County Attorney Daisy Flores to aid him in his investigations.

"I request that your investigation look into allegations of human rights violations, threatening and intimidating, misuse of public resources, theft of property, theft of identity, fraud and impersonation," said Babeu in the letter.

Gila County said they cannot help Babeu due to a lack of resources, but Attorney General Tom Horne said his office would aid the investigation.

"Attorney General Tom Horne is the top prosecutor in the state," said Babeu. "I feel that he and his staff will conduct this comprehensive investigation into all allegations made against me and my office, as well as possible crimes committed against me."

Babeu's former lover, known only as "Jose," announced in an article last week that Babeu has threatened him and his family with deportation should he reveal the couple's homosexual relationship after things went sour between the two.

The investigation will also include possible crimes committed against Babeu.

Babeu's letter said that his office and his political staff were instructed to cooperate fully with Gila County.

Babeu calls for joint investigation into allegations - KTAR.com

Originally Posted by SicNTiredInSoCal

This was the point I was trying to make in my previous post on this thread. His gayness is secondary to his lack of and poor judgment.

Absolutely right. The issue is not gay or straight. The issue is "Is this the type of behavior we want to see exhibited by our elected officials?"

Openly posting suggestive photos via text and on the internet and actively soliciting sexual partners is not appropriate by any way, shape or form, gay or straight, while one is seeking public office or serving the public.

Do we want our teachers, mayors, councilmen, representatives, or sheriffs actively soliciting and posting descriptive photos in this manner? I think not!