Chambliss' office says it was source of homosexual slur

By Bob Keefe

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss' office has determined it was indeed the source of a highly publicized homosexual-bashing slur on an Internet site.

But in a statement, Chambliss' office said it has not discovered exactly who was behind the slur, and has turned the matter over to the Senate sergeant at arms. The office employs 42 people.

"The [sergeant at arms] has worked side by side with our personnel to determine whether the comment in question emanated from our office. That appears to be the case," an unsigned statement from Chambliss' press office read.

"There has not been a determination as to who posted the comment," the statement read. "That part of the review is ongoing, and is now in the hands of the Senate sergeant at arms.”

Spokeswomen for Chambliss did not return a reporter's phone calls or e-mails seeking more details.

Tuesday, a poster identifying himself as "Jimmy" wrote "All [gays] must die" on Joe.My.God., a blog dedicated to gay and lesbian issues -- just as Republican Chambliss and other senators were debating a Democratic proposal to repeal the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The proposal failed.

The posting was traced to an Internet Protocol address matching Chambliss' office, but it's unclear whether it was one of his offices in Georgia or in Washington.

Democrats seized on the situation.

"No American should be subjected to the threats of violence from the staff of a United States senator," Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Jane Kidd said in a statement.

She criticized Chambliss' office for not moving more quickly on identifying and disciplining whoever wrote the slur.

"The comment can be traced to an extremely limited number of individuals that had access to the Senate Internet from the Georgia delegation offices," Kidd said.