The disclosure that one of the country's most homophobic politicians has a top aide who is gay is beginning to draw some attention back in Sen. Rick Santorum's home state of Pennsylvania. The local newspaper in Wilkes-Barre reports that Santorum answered questions Monday about his chief spokesman, Robert Traynham, whose homosexuality was first disclosed last week on a gay activist's Web log.

Speaking to reporters outside a VA medical center in Plaines Township, Pa., Santorum once again reiterated his position that just because he is on the record criticizing homosexuality, it doesn't mean he has a problem with a gay staff member. Santorum said he treats all people with "dignity and respect irrespective of what they might do outside of work." And The Citizens' Voice reports that he referred to the publicity surrounding Traynham's sexual orientation as being "bigoted and mean-spirited."

The admiration is apparently mutual. In a brief interview last week with the Web publication PageOneQ, Traynham said that even though he's gay, he admires Santorum for being a "a man of principle" and says he strongly supports the senator. But Jim Harrington, a gay rights activist in Pennsylvania, criticized Santorum's reference to "dignity and respect" as "pure hypocrisy." Santorum has in the past compared homosexuality to bigamy, incest, and polygamy. He was also a leading sponsor of the Federal Marriage Amendment, restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.

Santorum's praise for his gay aide didn't dim the ardor of the senator's conservative supporters. Pennsylvania Family Institute president Michael Geer told The Citizens' Voice that he applauded Santorum for knowing the difference between employing a gay man and endorsing homosexuality in public policy.

AP, The Advocate, Jul 19, 2005

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