Subject: CA Assemblyman Outs His Son
From: [email-masked]
Date: Tue, 10 Sep 1996 23:18:50 -0400

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT
Laurie McBride, [email-masked]
Ellen, McCormick, [email-masked]
916 444 0424

California Assemblyman Pete Knight
Outs His Own Son...

Pete Knight (R-Palmdale) outed his son, David, and his own appalling lack of
family values today.   News of his son's sexual orientation is reportedly
being released by a weekly newsmagazine tomorrow.  That prompted Pete
Knight's action.

Knight revealed that David Knight came out to him over a year ago.  Knight
added that it wasn't a surprise.  It also came out that Pete Knight's brother
died of AIDS, and had a long-term relationship with another man.  Reportedly
Knight's brother died alone, unreconciled with his brother.

"Family dysfunction instead of family values," said Laurie McBride, Executive
Director of LIFE: California's Lesbian/Gay and AIDS Lobby, "that's what you
get with Pete Knight.  Adding insult to injury, Pete Knight claims his
personal inability to accept his son, to accept his own brother, has nothing
to do with his legislative vendetta against gay people.  Most tragically of
all, he is lying to himself."

Pete Knight introduced two anti-gay marriage bills this legislative session.
 Both bills failed passage in the California legislature.  "The Assemblyman
put everything he had into passing those two bills.  He helped Senator Ray
Haynes (R-Riverside) craft a third anti-gay marriage bill, which also failed
at the close of the last day of session," McBride said.  "The bills failed,
but not for lack of trying on his part.  He kept the issue alive throughout
the year, constantly pushing his anti-gay stance.  It wasn't enough to debate
the issue once.  Pete Knight had to force the issue three times."

Capital insiders agreed that Assemblyman Knight was a man with a mission.
 Some had wondered what personal devil was pushing him.  McBride commented,
"The devil, as usual, was hate -- and probably self hate at that."

Knight has vowed to introduce anti-gay marriage again next year.

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