Homophobic Ex-VA Gov. Bob McDonnell Now Living With Priest Who Pled Guilty To Having Sex With Another Man In Public

When he was governor of Virginia, Bob McDonnell proudly embraced his inner homophobe. He signed an executive order stripping state employees of anti-discrimination protections, defended the state’s ban on adoption by gay parents, and called the state’s ban on marriage equality “the right decision.”

So, of course, now that McDonnell is no longer in office and is standing trial for corruption charges, he’s living with a priest who was arrested for having sex with another man in a public place.

Really.

Rev. Wayne Ball was arrested in Norfolk in 2002 for “frequenting a bawdy place,” which is Virginian for cruising area. He and another man, also arrested, were found in a parked car, presumably discussing the finer points of the latest papal encyclical. Ball pled guilty to lewd behavior and was subsequently reassigned to another Church, in the fine Catholic tradition of protecting priests at all costs. The charge was dismissed after

McDonnell and Ball have been friends for years, with Ball presiding at the wedding of McDonnell’s daughter (to a man, just to be clear). Of course, the wedding itself is among the corruption charges against McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, which allege that they received inappropriate gifts and loans totalling at least $165,000 from a local businessman.

The trial has been spectacularly messy, with McDonnell essentially blaming all of his woes on his wife’s romantic delusions. McDonnell moved out of the house he shared with Maureen months ago to bunk at Ball’s parish house.

Ball has been a vocal supporter McDonnell, complaining in a blog post about how unfair the legal system has been to McDonnell because it forced him to talk about marital problems. “Is there any person at all who would want to stand up in public and tell the whole truth about their life?” Ball asked.

We wonder if he would be willing to answer that question for himself.