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Anti-LGBT US lawmaker caught having sex with man in office, resigns
Wes Goodman, a Republican legislator, was known for his aggressive push for “family values”.
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A right-wing US lawmaker, who pushed for “family values” and was aggressively anti-LGBT, submitted his resignation after being caught having sex with a man in his office.
Wes Goodman, the Republican legislator for the state of Ohio, was reported to Ohio House Chief of Staff Mike Dittoe on Tuesday, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Dittoe in turn informed House speaker Cliff Rosenberger of the incident, who called Goodman for a meeting. The lawmaker resigned for “inappropriate conduct” shortly after the meeting. “We all bring our own struggles and our own trials into public life,” he was quoted by the Independent as saying.
“I met with him later in the day where he acknowledged and confirmed the allegations. It became clear that his resignation was the most appropriate course of action for him, his family, the constituents of the 87th House District and this institution,” Rosenberger said, according to The Associated Press.
Goodman, 33, has previously been described as the “conscience of the conservative movement” and is married to Bethany Goodman, the assistant director of the annual anti-abortion rally March for Life.
His campaign website, which has now been taken down, read: “The ideals of a loving father and mother, a committed natural marriage, and a caring community are well worth pursuing and protecting.”
Goodman’s resignation is the latest to hit the Ohio legislature since sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein surfaced, touching off a national wave of similar alleged misconduct by entertainers, politicians and others.
Veteran Ohio Senator Clifford Hite, a Republican from Findlay, resigned on October 16 after a sexual harassment complaint was filed against him. According to an investigative memo, Hite had inappropriate conversations and physical contact with a female legislative staff member for two months and repeatedly propositioned her for sex.
Then on Monday, Senate Democrats’ chief of staff, Michael Premo, resigned abruptly over unspecified allegations of inappropriate conduct. His single-sentence resignation email provided no details.
(With inputs from The Associated Press)
