Dennis Hastert's anti-gay voting record highlighted as sex abuse scandal grows
Sat. May 30, 2015 11:47 AM by GoPride.com News Staff
dennis hastert
photo credit // wikipedia.org
The scandal continues to brew around Dennis Hastert as he steps down from Wheaton College board
Chicago, IL -
On Thursday, a federal grand jury indicted former House speaker Dennis Hastert (R-IL), alleging he agreed to pay a man $3.5 million over several years not to report that he had sexually abused him several decades ago.
The 73-year-old Illinois Republican, who left office in 2007, became the longest-serving Republican House speaker in U.S. history and was seen a strong social conservative -- all while allegedly paying out millions to conceal sexual abuse against a former male student.
Raw Story reports as a federal lawmaker, Hastert voted for the "Marriage Protection Act" and in favor of a constitutional amendment to "establish that marriage shall consist of one man and one woman." Hastert also voted against the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act", a bill to prohibit companies from discriminating against employees "on the basis of sexual orientation.
Hastert's voting record received perfect scores off 100 from the National Right to Life Committee, the Christian Coalition, the Chamber of Commerce, and the National Rifle Association, according to the Associated Press.
"I was never a very good liar. Maybe I wasn't smart enough. I could never get away with it, so I made up my mind as a kid to tell the truth and pay the consequences," Hastert wrote in his autobiography.
On Thursday, Hastert resigned from the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and from the board at Wheaton College, an evangelical university in Chicago's west suburbs known for its anti-gay policies.
The 73-year-old Illinois Republican, who left office in 2007, became the longest-serving Republican House speaker in U.S. history and was seen a strong social conservative -- all while allegedly paying out millions to conceal sexual abuse against a former male student.
Raw Story reports as a federal lawmaker, Hastert voted for the "Marriage Protection Act" and in favor of a constitutional amendment to "establish that marriage shall consist of one man and one woman." Hastert also voted against the "Employment Non-Discrimination Act", a bill to prohibit companies from discriminating against employees "on the basis of sexual orientation.
Hastert's voting record received perfect scores off 100 from the National Right to Life Committee, the Christian Coalition, the Chamber of Commerce, and the National Rifle Association, according to the Associated Press.
"I was never a very good liar. Maybe I wasn't smart enough. I could never get away with it, so I made up my mind as a kid to tell the truth and pay the consequences," Hastert wrote in his autobiography.
On Thursday, Hastert resigned from the board of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and from the board at Wheaton College, an evangelical university in Chicago's west suburbs known for its anti-gay policies.