Schock, 38, who repeatedly voted against LGBTQ rights during his time in Congress, was filmed and photographed in Boy Bar, an “LGBTQ dive bar,” according to the Daily Mail.
The former Illinois Representative was filmed around midnight on Saturday, June 22 in the bar, which also features strippers and a “dark room.”
The person who filmed Schock told the Daily Mail that Schock was “[the] last person I would expect to see in Boy Bar.”
“I was taking a video of the go-go dancer on stage and all of a sudden I saw him,” the source said. “He looked like he was enjoying himself.”
Users on social media were less than enamored to see Schock enjoying his time in an LGBTQ establishment, particularly after a congressional career spent refusing to support the rights of LGBTQ people.
“‘Hey Cutie, I’m Aaron Schock. As a congressman I voted against marriage equality, the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and Equal Protections for LGBT folk. Now hold still while I shove this dollar down your shorts,'” author Greg Hogben tweeted.
“Hey Cutie, I’m Aaron Schock. As a congressman I voted against marriage equality, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ and Equal Protections for LGBT folk. Now hold still while I shove this dollar down your shorts.” pic.twitter.com/YLGDXrW9Ei
Schock, who has refrained from discussing his sexuality publicly, was also spotted earlier this year with his hand down another man’s pants at music festival Coachella.
Political activist James Duke Mason brought the photos to public attention in a scathing Facebook post attacking Schock for his alleged hypocrisy — particularly voting against LGBTQ rights while enjoying the freedom others fought for to make out with a guy in public.
“Normally I wouldn’t comment on something like this, but I am just infuriated by these images of former Republican (and anti-gay) Congressman Aaron Schock partying with a group of gay men at Coachella,” Mason wrote. “The fact that he would think he could show his face in public, particularly when he has NEVER renounced or apologized for his votes against gay marriage, gays in the military and against anti-discrimination laws is astounding.
“My intention isn’t to out him or target him personally, but simply to point out the hypocrisy. I saw him at a recent gay social event in West Hollywood and shook his hand before I realized who he was; he should really be ashamed of himself. And the gays who associate with him without calling him out should know better. It really is a disgrace.”
A second photo purported to be of Schock making out with a man and with his hand down the front of the man’s pants was widely circulated online.
Video of Schock stroking the man under his pants then followed from Queerty, who noted they were not trying to sex shame Schock by posting the footage, but rather hoped “to encourage Schock, who made his career in politics about actively fighting against LGBTQ causes, to deal with the harm he did before he enjoys the freedoms he has so clearly embraced for himself. We’re still waiting.”
The Illinois Republican resigned from Congress in 2015 after weeks of media attention and questions over misuse of taxpayer funds — including decorating his office to look like Downton Abbey and using funds to take staff to a Katy Perry concert.
Schock racked up quite the anti-gay record while in Congress, including voting against adding LGBTQ people to federal hate crime protections, voting against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and voting for a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.
He was indicted in 2017 on 24 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, theft of government funds, making false statements, filing false reports with federal election officials, and six counts of filing false tax returns. Last week, federal prosecutors dropped charges against him.
Pennsylvania's two Democratic senators pulled $1 million in funding for Philadelphia's William Way LGBT Community Center after it was revealed to have allowed a group that holds monthly BDSM, kink, and fetish parties for adults to use its facilities.
The anti-LGBTQ Libs of TikTok account criticized congressional funding for the William Way LGBT Community Center, noting that a kink-positive group known as The Aviary had used the center's facilities to host monthly events since 2015. The Aviary describes itself as "Philadelphia's friendliest and longest running kink and fetish party," and encourages "players of all skill types" to come to the monthly "all inclusive" social event on its Eventbrite page.
As You Are, a queer bar, café, and dance boutique in D.C.'s Barracks Row neighborhood, has successfully raised over $156,000 through a GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign. The amount exceeds the $150,000 goal set by the bar's owners.
Co-owner Rach "Coach" Pike told Axios that the space, which opened fewer than two years ago, is in debt due to slow business during the winter months, increased operational costs, and an expensive lease.
"We need to get over this hump and out of debt, or we'll be put out of business," Pike said.
The funds raised through the GoFundMe campaign will be used to pay rent and back taxes, allowing the bar to qualify for community grants under the District's "Clean Hands" mandate.
If recent studies are to be believed, it's time for advocates to sound the alarm when it comes to recognizing one of the warning signs that LGBTQ youth may be considering suicide.
A recent analysis of data collected from The Trevor Project's 2023 U.S. National Survey, focusing on the mental health of LGBTQ individuals, finds that fewer than 3 out of 5 people aged 13 to 24 believe there's a high chance they will reach or exceed the age of 35. Even more disturbingly, 1 out of 3 respondents characterized their chances of reaching age 35 -- which is not even considered middle age -- as low. Another 7 percent said they were unsure of their life expectancy.
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