Sex In Public With 17-Year-Old-Boy? Yes, If You're Rep. Kerry Gauthier

Minnesota lawmaker urged to step aside after rest-stop liaison with 17-year-old boy​

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August 21, 2012
A Minnesota state lawmaker who authorities say admitted having a liaison with a 17-year-old boy at a rest stop faced calls from party leaders on Monday to give up his re-election bid.

Rep. Kerry Gauthier, 56, hasn't been charged in the July incident, and authorities said he wouldn't be because the boy was older than 16, the legal age of consent, and no money was exchanged. Police say the teenager responded to the lawmaker's Craigslist ad for "no strings attached" sex.

Gauthier admitted to the liaison, according to police reports made public late last week. The teen told police the two had oral sex, according to the reports.

The scandal has hurt Democrats' hopes of retaking at least one chamber of the Legislature. They need to pick up at least six seats in the House, and Gauthier's Duluth-area seat is usually reliably Democratic. But if he drops out, any Democrat seeking to replace him would have to run as a write-in candidate, making the race much more difficult to win.

Still, Democratic leaders called on Gauthier to withdraw from the race. House Minority Leader Paul Thissen, D-Minneapolis, said he was "deeply disappointed" in Gauthier's conduct and wants him to step aside.

"As I shared with Rep. Gauthier, I believe he should withdraw from the race for re-election," Thissen said in a statement released by his office.

Less than an hour later, state Democratic Party Chairman Ken Martin echoed Thissen's comments, although neither man asked Gauthier to leave office before his term ends in January.

Gauthier hasn't commented to reporters on the incident. A call to his cellphone rolled to voicemail on Monday. Thissen's statement said he expects Gauthier to "address these issues publicly and soon."

Gauthier was hospitalized for an undisclosed condition until last weekend, which prompted Thissen to wait to issue his statement. House Speaker Kurt Zellers, a Republican, on Friday urged Gauthier to resign.

Gauthier was elected in 2010 with 73 percent of the vote. He is not married.

Duluth City Councilor Jay Fosle has already filed paperwork to run as a write-in candidate against Gauthier and Republican nominee T

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/21/minnesota-lawmaker-urged-to-step-aside-after-rest-stop-liaison-with-17-year-old/#ixzz24VP00RI3​

 

Minnesota lawmaker in rest stop scandal getting out of race​

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August 22, 2012​

The Minnesota state lawmaker involved in a rest-stop sexual encounter with a 17-year-old boy says he won't run for re-election after all.​

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Rep. Kerry Gauthier told The Associated Press on Wednesday that he made the decision on his own after multiple conversations with Democratic leaders who urged him to drop out. Gauthier had said earlier in the day that he would not drop out.​

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Gauthier also told AP an overdose of muscle relaxants he took last week was a suicide attempt.​

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Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/22/minnesota-lawmaker-in-rest-stop-scandal-says-wont-drop-bid/#ixzz24VPtcJJo​

 

Maybe Todd Akin could take some advice from this guy. Thank you Faux News for your balanced coverage of stories like this.


Here is the rub. What Gauthier did was certainly in bad taste but it wasn't illegal unless you think it should be illegal to be gay. You don't seem to have commented at all so just wondering why you felt the need to post this. Oh never mind, I understand the Right-wing media's need to bring only Democrats to the forefront of controversy.

 

Yeah, I think having oral sex in a public rest stop is illegal, not just in "bad taste" (no pun intended) as you assert.

 

Eh, Gauthier is a quitter and obviously mentally unstable (suicide attempt, ya know). How you equate him to Akin is something we may never know.

 

Good one but apparently this guy wasn't charged with the "crime".

 

Illegal, yes. Charged, no.

Now, if you want my opinion on whether or not this guy should be pilloried, my opinion is "no". Yes, he committed a crime (albeit a "victimless crime"), but as long as his constituents forgive him, he should move on with his political career. It's not as if he committed campaign fraud or something like that. He goofed up, but it's nothing to attempt suicide over. That's something he'll have to work out on his own. Next scandal, please!

 

How did he forget about 'poor little' Zimmerman? So soon? Oh, yeah... he's a hypocrite.