09.02.10 By: Michael Giltz
Kirby Dick, the director of
Outrage -- a must-see documentary about anti-gay politicians, especially the closeted ones -- has weighed in on former Republican National Committee chairman
Ken Mehlman finally coming out as gay, one of of the worst-kept secrets in DC. (Americablog sometimes referred to Mehlman as the only closeted straight man in America, since Mehlman refused to state publicly that he was heterosexual.)
In an exclusive interview with Queersighted, Dick was asked if he found Mehlman's assertion that he had really just come out to himself "poignant."
"Oh, I found that very disingenuous," says Dick. "Poignant? I don't say poignant at all. He hasn't really even apologized for what he's done or even said that he regretted it in any way. And what he did affected the lives of millions of American gay and lesbian citizens very profoundly. I think he has a lot to answer for."
Some have suggested that coming out is difficult, and now that Mehlman has come out and is devoting himself to fighting for equal rights for gays when it comes to marriage, that at least we should encourage him for doing the right thing.
John Aravosis of Americablog wrote on his gay-centric politics site, "But that doesn't mean we don't embrace him now. And not just for strategic reasons. Mehlman, from what Ambinder says, is doing the right thing. He's now using his position in the GOP to help our community on our number one issue: marriage. For that, he deserves our thanks.