BAUMAN, ROBERT (1937-), U.S. Politician

Seemly the quintessential conservative, Robert Bauman, a Republican congressman from Maryland, was a fervent Reaganite who took a strong right-wing stance on virtually every piece of legislation that crossed his desk. A staunch proponent of traditional family values, and himself a family man with a wife and children, Bauman lost his seat in the House after being charged with soliciting sex from a sixteen year old boy. In his subsequent autobiography, The Gentleman from Maryland: Conscience of a Gay Conservative he suggested that House colleague Barney Frank was also gay. Since being forced to come out, Bauman has become a supporter of gay rights, although he has chosen not to become a leader in the struggle. As a conservative, he has consistently objected to the liberal, left-wing slant of the gay rights movement.