Puerto Rico politician resigns over gay Grindr photos
A Puerto Rico politician who has voted against gay rights has resigned after reports said explicit photos of him had been found on gay iPhone app Grindr.
New Progressive Party Senator Roberto Arango said he had taken some snaps to document his weight loss.
He handed in his resignation over the weekend to Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz.
Local newspapers published photos of a man topless and and wearing a necklace similar to one Mr Arango has worn before.
In another shot, the man is bending over exposing his rear end. A third fuzzy shot of a face appears to match Mr Arango’s features.
When asked whether the images were of him, the politician said: “You know I’ve been losing weight. As I shed that weight, I’ve been taking pictures. I don‘t remember taking this particular picture but I’m not gonna say I didn’t take it. I‘d tell you if I remembered taking the picture but I don’t.”
He was not asked, or did not answer, questions on whether he put the photos on Grindr.
Pedro Julio Serrano, of gay rights group Puerto Rico for Everyone, pointed out Mr Arango’s poor voting record on gay rights, which includes support for a measure to ban gay marriage in Puerto Rico, as well as his opposition to adoption rights to gay couples and equal rights in the workplace.
He told AFP: “This isn’t a moment to kick someone when he’s down, but I have to denounce Sen. Roberto Arango’s complicity with a fundamentalist agenda that promotes the exclusion and marginalisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”
