"While Adams' actions are regrettable and his dishonesty to the Portland community is undesirable, I'm not pushing for Adams to resign. He didn't in fact, break any laws, nor did he really break any social mores within our community."

He didn't break any mores in our community? He lied. Is dishonesty suddenly not a bad thing among LGBT people?

Adams lied. He shouldn't have. He's lost his credibility, at least for now. He can earn it back, but it takes a long time to earn back trust.

Look, I'm conservative, and maybe a touch homophobic too.

I see this as no better - and no worse - than a str8 female mayor having a relationship with an 18 year old male staffer who she met when he was 17.

It's marginally better, by a whisker, than a str8 male mayor having a relationship with an 18 year old female staffer who he met when she was 17.

Why the whisker difference? Ask any Feminist about relative power in today's society. It might be a mighty thick whisker.

I'm not familiar with relative power matrix in the Gay community, so could be wrong. But I don't think so.

So although I'm a neo-con, somewhat priggish, square, someone who thinks history will look kindly on GWB, someone not "progressive" and generally out-of-step with most here... I don't see that he's done anything wrong. Certainly not compared to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky. And *that* wasn't bad enough for impeachment, not by a mile. The behaviour of the Wingnut Right then was as deranged as the Moonbat Left's views on ChimpyHalliburtonBusHitler THE ANTICHRIST!!! as many here think of him.

Maybe it's a cultural thing. Australians tend not to be so uptight about such matters, what concerns us is abuse of relative power. Powerful Boss and Powerless Employee. And I don't see that here.

While it's sad that this will likely halt one of the most promising LGBT political careers in the country, I hope he doesn't resign. There are too many straight men in office who have done the exact same thing (including lying about it) and never even considered resignation. David Vitter even broke the law by PAYING for sex and remained in the Senate.

As long as the sex truly didn't start until the guy was 18, Adams resignation would reinforce the view that gay sexuality is "worse" than straight. It's what Jim McGreevy did and it still pisses me off.

I don't really see the issue with the age difference. Is Beau was old enough to be drafted he's old enough to decide who he wants to date. I think that Adams' motivations were more than just sexualizing a young body, or, as another gay blogger put it, making himself feel attractive again. Intergenerational romances are common among gay men, and Adams himself is still pretty cute. I'm currently in a relationship w/ someone 19 years older than I am, and it's not a mentor/protege relationship, it's not a "creepy old dude picking on a dumb kid relationship," it's, to me, another gay male relationship that crosses a lot of age lines.

But I expect the moralizers to be out in full force on this one. We apparently have a better ability to condemn someone when they lie about a relationship that has nothing to do with their ability to perform their jobs than we do to condemn lies that lead to, I dunno, massive death.

Zoe above provides a perfect example of what too many Americans (especially in the media) fell into: Clinton lied about his affair! Oh no! But that other dude after him who lied, causing an estimated one million Iraqis to die, 3 million more to be displaced, and 4200 American soldiers to die? pish-posh.

Every time one of these sex scandals becomes big, I can't see it outside of the context of the fact that other lies pols tell are immaterial to a lot of the folks who care about the sex-related lies. Which is why I can't post about them without just pounding my keyboard in anger, so my laptop thanks you for posting about this situation first, Jason. :)

This showed remarkably bad judgment on Adams's part. Leave aside the same sex aspect of the story for the moment, and just look at the pertinent facts.

It is inappropriate for an adult in any kind of position of authority to have an intimate relationship with a high school student. Legalities aside, there is just too much of a power differential.

Anyone who is or hoping to be in public life has to be aware that most people would consider this to be an inappropriate relationship. Case in point is that Adams attempted to hide the relationship. So to have engaged in it anyway indicates an attitude which is usually incompatible with public service, such as that the rules don't apply to him; he doesn't have to face consequences; or that his personal desires trump any other considerations. Any of those explanations do not speak well of Adams.

As for the specific age difference, the number of years is only a portion of the issue. It is the begining age which is just as important. No one would question the propriety of a 40 year old in a personal relationship with a 64 year old. An 18 is a legal adult, but is unlikely to have the maturity of someone in their mid forties. And as some have discussed, it seems unlikely that this relationship was purely platonic until Beau hit 18.

Okay, back to the gay part. Everyone ought to realize that a sexually active gay man is seen as more threatening, especially in conjunction with minors, than other adults. Minorities who are trying to blaze new trails are served well to be "purer than Ceasar's wife". Perception being what it is, actual wrongdoing is not necessary to suffer the consequences.

There are uneducated people who believe the stereotype that gay men cannot curb their sexual appetite. I'm afraid this incident helps reinforce it. As a leader and role model of the GLBT community, it would have been preferable if Adams considered his actions more carefully. It would be a shame if a promising political future was thwarted for a fling.

On another note:

Beau Breedlove? Really?? Did his parents *expect* him to grow up to be a porn star? Honestly...

It is regretable that Adams lied but not untypical for political figures.
He had a seemingly consensual relationship with a young adult.
While the power dynamics are problematic, the two men made the choices through their own free will.
Adams ought not to resign. Let him run for reelection and see what his constituents think.

Elliot -

"But my question then, Rory, is whether it is fair for us to expect Adams, because he is a gay man "blazing a new trail," to have to hold himself up to a higher standard than anyone else?"

Only if we want him to succeed in the long run as a public official. It's hard to imagine that he will advance to a higher office with this as a part of his record. Fairness isn't a consideration if there is a higher purpose. It is what it is.

"Is it Adams' fault that society views gay men's sexuality as especially threatening and immoral?"

It doesn't matter who is responsible for that view if he counts those people as his constituents and needs their votes.

"I don't really think that we should blame Adams for not living up to our homophobic society's views of what a gay man should and shouldn't do."

I'm afraid he did live up to our homophobic society's views of a gay man, and for that he is clearly responsible.

"In my view, if anything, that makes it *more* understandable that he felt like he needed to lie about it... "

I get why he lied about it; but that should have been a clue why it was a really bad idea in the first place.

"I'm not necessarily saying that it's okay that Adams lied, but I think we do him a disservice if we don't look at how the experience of homophobia played into his decision to do that."

And I'm not saying he should be pilloried for having lied, but it is definitely a mark against him when he didn't need one. It's what they call in tennis an "unforced error".