You’d be forgiven for thinking that sexuality was a partisan hot potato in today’s America but sometimes there’s just a glimmer of hope amongst the madness.
State lawmaker in West Virginia Josh Higginbotham, 24, has come out as gay. He is Christian, he’s Republican, he’s gay and he doesn’t see how these things can’t all co-exist.
In a statement on twitter, Josh said ‘We made a decision as a family to be more open about it and make it public, because there’s nothing wrong with it. I’m not ashamed of it. I’m not embarrassed by it, part of who I am. And I wanted to share this part about me with you.’
He didn’t stop there either, in a move that is both brave and frankly revolutionary when US politics and religion are so intertwined at the moment, he added ‘I am still a Christian. People think that gay people can’t be Christians. I believe God loves me no matter what and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. I’m still a conservative Republican. It’s rare, I know, but you can be gay and Republican. You can be gay and conservative.’
Thank you Josh for proving that being gay doesn’t mean you have to be anything other than yourself (even if you’re a Republican!). See his tweet and full statement below. Happy Pride!
I’m gay. I’ve wanted to tell you this for many years, but I couldn’t be public like I wanted because there were still a few people in my family who didn’t know yet—now they do. So now I’m telling you, too. pic.twitter.com/k1ImZY6qPZ
— Joshua Higginbotham (@Higginbotham4WV) June 13, 2021