Fri. June 25, 2004
Chicago, IL -
Days after Jack Ryan, a pro-family anti-gay rights candidate for the US Senate, was accused by a former Star Trek performer of sexual improprieties, he has withdrawn from the race.
Ryan, the Republican candidate for the Senate from Illinois, had assured GOP officials there was nothing in his past that could come back to haunt him. But, court documents released earlier this week contain accusations by his ex-wife, actress Jeri Lynn Ryan, that he had tried to force her to have public sex in adult clubs.
Ryan spent four days trying to weather the political storm that followed the release of the documents involving a nasty custody battle between the two over their young son.
Ryan had campaigned for the Republican nomination on a pro family anti-gay platform.
"I believe that marriage can only be defined as that union between one man and one woman. I am opposed to same-sex marriages, civil unions, and registries," he says on his website.
"I believe that we are all equal before God and should be before the law. Homosexuals deserve the same constitutional protections, safeguards, and human dignity as every American, but they should not be entitled to special rights based on their sexual behavior."
Illinois GOP leaders will select another candidate. That candidate will face off in November against Democrat Barack Obama.
by Steph Smith
365Gay.com Newscenter
Chicago Bureau
©365Gay.com® 2004
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