Roy Ashburn Sentenced For DUI

Formerly closeted California state Sen. Roy Ashburn has been sentenced to two days in jail and three years of probation for last month’s DUI arrest as he left a Sacramento gay bar with a young Latino man in the front seat.

Ashburn entered his no contest plea to the misdemeanor charges Wednesday in Sacramento County Superior Court. He will also pay fines and fees of about $2,000, attend a mandatory first offender DUI program and have his license suspended for 30 days, according to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office. “Ashburn received no lesser penalties associated with his crime than your average citizen,” said Deputy District Attorney Robert Clancey. Ashburn was pulled over on March 3 shortly after 2 a.m. when CHP officers saw his state car driving in an erratic manner. A breath test was conducted and a subsequent blood test turned up a blood alcohol level of .15 percent. Under California law, a driver is under the influence with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent.

Asburn refused to resign after the scandal broke and has said he will continue his anti-gay voting habits, because that’s what his constituents want. He will be term-limited out of office this year.