This week, Portland, Ore. ’s openly gay mayor decided to keep his job after it became public that he lied about having a sexual relationship with an 18-year-old male, and critics had called for his resignation just three weeks after he was sworn in.
According to reports, Sam Adams, 45, had instructed his onetime lover, Beau Breedlove, to stay mum about their relationship during his election campaign and denied it had happened after he was accused of having a relationship when the teenager was 17. Both say the sex in the relationship began after the younger man turned 18.
It seems as though Adams’ critics have been holding him to a higher standard than heterosexual counterparts, where men routinely have relations with just-turned-18 women and there’s a term for older women who pursue younger men: cougars.
Portland has a progressive reputation, and as the first major American city with an openly gay mayor, it seems unsure that it can handle the scrutiny.
But the city has weathered sex scandals before, most notably that of former Oregon Gov. Neil Goldschmidt, alleged to have had a three-year sexual relationship with an underage girl when he was Portland’s mayor in the 1970s. In that case, the statute of limitations had expired by the time the allegations were made public; more than one public official turned a blind eye at the time.
While the Goldschmidt case was clearly abuse, he was never prosecuted.
However, the state attorney general is currently investigating Adams.
The discouraging pattern seems to be that when a male public official is found to have had a same-sex affair, he’s generally forced to resign. For some, it has been situational — if he’s a so-called man of God or espouses family values, is in the closet and has most likely committed a crime, he’s more likely to be forced out of his job (Rep. Mark Foley from Florida, Pastor Ted Haggard, though neither faced criminal charges, and Idaho Sen. Larry Craig). Others, like openly gay Rep. Barney Frank, have endured sex scandals and kept their jobs.
Perhaps the openness about one’s sexuality is the difference: When an openly gay man stands accused (fairly or not), the LGBT community is more likely to stand by him. If a closeted individual/homophobe stands accused, it’s not the community’s concern.