The only thing worse for a man than an extramarital affair with a woman is an extramarital affair with another man.
At least that’s what Republican state Representative Todd Courser of Michigan was thinking when he schemed to distribute an email alleging he had sex with a man to cover up his affair with fellow Republican and state Representative Cindy Gamrat.
“It will make anything else that comes out after that—that isn’t a video—mundane, tame by comparison,” Courser told his aide Ben Graham, who secretly recorded his boss before getting fired for refusing to send the email. Courser and Gamrat have both declined to discuss whether the firing of aides on their staff had anything to do with this relationship cover-up.
Courser and Gamrat, both of whom are married and have children, styled themselves as pro-family politicians. They both rose from the tea party and developed a legislative alliance with the express goal of returning Michigan to the conservative values of yore.
While they cheated on their spouses with one another, Courser and Gamrat held themselves up as defenders of “traditional marriage.”
“We are living in the last days,” Gamrat wrote on Facebook after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage. “Last Friday was a sad day for America. Last Friday was a crushing day for those who believe in traditional marriage and traditional morality. I need your help and your country needs your help now.”
Gamrat said the ruling was a “trampling of the people” and that “the ramifications of this decision will be devastating, affecting churches, schools, businesses, pastors, government officials, and families.”
After the ruling, Courser proposed a bill with Gamrat’s support requiring all marriage certificates in the state to be signed by a religious leader, essentially making it impossible for municipal or judicial officials to wed gays.
“The contract that has been in place for thousands of years is between a man and his wife on one side and God on the other side,” Courser said.
As if that weren’t enough, Courser was also working on the “Pastor Protection Act” that would ensure that religious leaders do not have to perform duties that don’t align with their beliefs, like gay marriage.
Gamrat endorsed the legislation as well and makes it clear on her website that she only believes in traditional marriage.
It is unclear when the relationship between Gamrat and Courser began but in August 2013, he referred to her as a friend in a tweet and excitedly announced that she was running for office. Courser has also appeared in Facebook photos with her including this one he posted with them.
The Republican speaker of the House wants to know everything about the two and pledged an “open ended” investigation to find out.
