Posted on 03/05/2010 10:53:33 AM PST by lainie
SACRAMENTO -- The county district attorney says Republican state Sen. Roy Ashburn's blood-alcohol level was .14 percent when he was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after leaving Faces, a gay bar and nightclub.
Ashburn has voted against every gay rights measure the senate has voted upon, according to Project Vote Smart.
The California Highway Patrol says the Bakersfield lawmaker was arrested early Wednesday after he was spotted driving erratically. Ashburn was taken to the Sacramento County Jail, booked and then released.
Ashburn, the married father of four, was reportedly driving with a male passenger who was not identified.
A spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, Shelly Orio, said Thursday that a breath test showed Ashburn's blood alcohol level was .06 percent above the legal limit.
He was released on $1,400 bond.
The lawmaker was a no-show on the Senate floor Thursday. The state-owned vehicle he was driving when he was arrested has been impounded at the Capitol, Senate sergeant-at-arms Tony Beard Jr. said.
I’m not gay, but have worked in a gay bar, and I can tell you that 99.999% of men that get drunk in a gay bar and leave the bar with another man are gay.
>> And if you are rolling out of a gay barn so drunk off your a$$, you are an idiot for blowing.
Par for the course... you’re also an idiot for being in a gay bar, for leaving a gay bar with a dude in tow, for being drunk off your ass, for betraying your wife and FOUR kids, and for “blowing” anything (breathalyzer or otherwise).
Sounds like an idiot from top-to-bottom (no pun intended).
SnakeDoc
Ohh geeeshh.. nothing to see here folks,, move along,, just a Carole Migden mixed up moment I’m sure.. yeah that’s it. he’s on male supplements or sumthin’. :-)
I love it when self richeous a-holes get busted!
>> Things aren’t always as they seem. Just because he was in a gay bar with a male friend doen’t mean that he is a hypocrite nor gay. I have a gay friend that isn’t in favor of special privileges for gays. There are straights that go to gay bars too.
He’s married with FOUR kids. He left a gay bar with a guy. He drove drunk. Some example. If he was just an unsuspecting straight married father-of-four ... he’s too stupid to govern.
SnakeDoc
OMG were you listen to John and Ken yesterday at 2pm hour they were talking about this
Yeah, it just proves those values he’s espousing are not valid in the first place, doesn’t it?
Yes, I am sure all of this blows for the senator.
Me too.
How so?
These laws are very local, so check your own state, but in mine, WA... If you refuse the breathalyzer, your license is revoked for a year - which is much worse than the possible suspension you may get, if convicted, going to trial. As it is now, with other options you can negotiate in a plea, your license may not be suspended at all.
Revocation is as if you never had a license. When your revocation period is up, you must retake the driving test like a 16 year old.
The revocation will take place regardless of the outcome of your DUI trial, because the breathalizer is a condition of your license. So it's not a 5th ammendment issue, because your license is a privilege.
This presumes a breathalizer given after arrest.
Roadside breathalizers used to gather probable cause, like any other roadside sobriety tests, can be refused. You do not have to walk the line. You do not have to say the alphabet backwards or do any other roadside tests. They'll probably arrest you anyway, but at least they don't have you acting a fool on camera. Once arrested, you should not refuse the breathalizer. They can, and will, order a blood test and get your BAC anyway.
The breathalyzer is only part of the evidence, *after* your arrest. Assuming the officer can meet probable cause for the arrest, which isn't hard.
Gee a real live Rip Van Winkle lives right here on FR.
Oops. Career error.
What if he was just hanging out with his friend having a few drinks?
What do you think the headline would have been if he had declined the breathalyzer?
I don’t think there’s anything hypocritical or wrong about being gay and at the same time believing in upholding the traditional definition of marriage.
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How about if you add the rest of the equation into your analysis? Like the leaving of a gay bar with another man at closing time with BAC of .14? Oh, and with your wife and 4 kids waiting for daddy to come home.
Are we getting close to your threshold for hypocrisy yet? Doesn’t sound like this guy is a poster child for traditional marriage, and if you uncontort yourself from the attempt to defend this guy, you might be able to recognize that.
How did he betray his wife?
Give them no evidence, avoid a conviction and you will be much better off.
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