Randy Boehning, a Republican state representative from Fargo who voted against gay rights legislation in North Dakota, is admitting he is a gay men after being outted by a guy he was trying to score on Grindr.
Grindr, of course, is the gay hook-up app. Boehning, 52, was trying to pick-up 21-year-old Dustin Smith using the screen name “Top Man” and a bio that reads “Seems I haven’t found mister right yet, so need to keep looking for and having fun on the way! Hit me up boys.”
Smith recognized Boehning in a newspaper article after finding out he was one of the representatives who helped defeat legislation that would have protected gays and lesbians against discrimination in North Dakota.
“I’m sure I’ve talked to this person before,” Dustin told The Washington Post. “Suddenly it dawned on me: I think I’ve seen this guy on Grindr!”
“I just felt like this story had to get out,” Smith added. “A [representative] had voted against a bill for the LGBT community and here he was talking to me on Grindr.”
When asked about his sexual orientation by Inforum, Representative Boehning admitted he was gay. He also defended sending the young man unsolicited nude pictures with a message that said “What’s up tonight sexy?”
“That’s what gay guys do on gay sites, don’t they?” Boehning said. “That’s how things happen on Grindr. It’s a gay chat site. It’s not the first thing you do on that site. That’s what we do, exchange pics on the site.”
Boehning also claimed that Smith only shared the photos to retaliate against him for voting against the anti-discrimination bill. He also said another state representative threatened to blackmail him if he didn’t back the legislation. Boehning refused to name that colleague.