No one knows for certain if President Buchanan really was gay. It is purely a matter of speculation and comes largely down to the fact that, unusually for a President, he remained a lifelong bachelor. Even if Buchanan had been gay, there's no way in a million years that he would've been able to come out. At that time, being gay was illegal, and so it was impossible for someone to acknowledge their homosexuality openly without running the risk of being sent to jail. Furthermore, the least suspicion of being gay would've wrecked any political career, as homosexuality was widely seen as socially unacceptable.
Some historians have based their assessment of Buchanan's alleged homosexuality on his closeness to the Alabama Senator William Rufus King, who served as Franklin Pierce's vice president. The two men lived together, and their closeness was noted by contemporaries, who often remarked that they seemed like a married couple. Whether there was anything more to their relationship than just close friendship is almost impossible to determine. But there's little doubt that a number of reputable historians do regard James Buchanan as the first gay President of the United States.
No comments:
Post a Comment