Free Republic

U.S. Capitol Police said yesterday that they have no record of an alleged incident in which then-Rep. Mark Foley supposedly tried to enter a Capitol Hill dormitory for teenage pages. The purported nighttime incident has been cited by lawmakers and a key witness in the scandal that involves Foley's interactions with congressional pages and the House's handling of the matter. Unlike sexually graphic electronic messages that Foley sent to teenage boys, evidence of the alleged dorm incident has proved elusive. Yesterday, acting Capitol Police Chief Christopher McGaffin said his staff conducted electronic and hand searches of files covering several years...

BOSTON - Former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay person elected to Congress, died early Saturday at Boston Medical Center, a hospital official said. He was 69. Christian Kiriakos, central administrator at the hospital, said Studds died between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. He did not have additional information, and details of Studds' death could not be immediately confirmed. Studds, a liberal Democrat who spent more than 20 years in Congress, was censured by the House in the 1980s for having sex with a 17-year-old male page. He was re-elected for several more terms. Last year he married...

Gerry Studds among first gays to wed By KAREN ESCHBACHER The Patriot LedgerThe first openly gay member of Congress, former U.S. Rep. Gerry Studds, quietly married his long-time partner one week after same-sex marriages became legal. Studds and Dean Hara, who have been together since 1991, applied for a marriage license on May 18 and were married in Boston on May 24. The Rev. Thomas Green, a minister in the United Church of Christ, officiated at the ceremony in his apartment on Beacon Hill., across from the Boston Common. Although Studds wears a wedding ring, until now the marriage has...

I am a young, conservative high-school sophomore who is very interested in politics. Both of my parents are registered democrats; in South NJ, you must be a democrat if you want to get something accomplished. I have recently found out about the Congressional Page program, and I am very interested in it. I understand that prospective candidates must have a Congressman or Senator sponsor them. My problem is finding sponsership; my Representative is a Democrat (Andrews), and so are both senators. Will my political affiliation kill my chances? If so, is there any other way for me to get sponsorship...