In 2000, he became the first openly gay person to address the Republican National Convention, although his speech did not address gay rights. He subsequently came out, and actually won reelection that same year. This Arizona Congressman wasn’t exactly “taken down” by revelations about his sexuality-but he was forced to come out.Īfter Kolbe voted in favor of the Defense of Marriage Act, LGBT advocates threatened to out him-placing a full-page ad in the Washington Blade calling on closeted congressmen to “end your silence and defend your community.”
