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Can You Forgive the Coachella Gays Who Partied With Aaron Schock?

"For our own political ignorance, we are deeply sorry."

Gay Twitter™ felt some type of way last weekend when photos were shared on social media of anti-gay ex-congressman Aaron Schock hanging out with shirtless hunks at the Coachella music festival.

More photos and video soon surfaced, allegedly showing Schock, 37, making out with another guy and reaching down the man's shorts.

These sunny, sexy images of Schock felt like a bitch-slap in the face considering the former Illinois representative's record of voting against LGBTQ rights, including marriage equality and the repeal of "Don't ask, don't tell."

But who were these gay dudes partying with him? Had they no self-respect? Had they no respect for their community?

William Rossi and Rob Masi, a gay couple photographed with Schock, have now released a statement on Instagram distancing themselves from the disgraced politician.

"We are entirely against Aaron Schock's values, views, and actions," they write. "We had just met Aaron Schock the day of the photo at Coachella, and before posting it, we were embarrassingly unaware of: who he was, his political views, and the extent of his negative impact on the LGBTQ community which we are proudly a part of."

"Being polite, we allowed Aaron—who was basically a stranger to us and someone we just met—to include himself in our photo," they continue. "We would not have allowed Aaron to join the photo, nor would we have associated with him if we had more knowledge of his beliefs and past actions. For our own political ignorance, we are deeply sorry."

"We hope Aaron does decide to come out publicly and live the gay life he so freely enjoyed at Coachella, the kind of life so many out and proud LGBTQ individuals have fought for and have made possible for younger gays like [us] to live today. And we hope if or when Aaron does decide to come out and own his actions, he apologizes and makes amends with the LGBTQ community, because he certainly owes us one."

While Schock has never confirmed or denied his sexuality, some, including former Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA), feel that if he is gay, he should be exposed because of his history of voting against LGBTQ equality.

"When you are in public office and you vote opposite to the way you live your life, no I don’t think you have privacy,” Frank told ABC News. "Anyone who is gay and votes in an anti-gay fashion has, it seems to me, lost their right to privacy, because it’s been converted to a right to hypocrisy."

Schock resigned from Congress when questions were raised about his lavish spending while in office. A federal grand jury indicted Schock in 2016 on more than 24 charges, including fraud, filing false income tax returns, and using campaign funds for personal trips and other luxuries. All charges were dropped earlier this year when he agreed to pay back the IRS.

Schock is now reportedly living in Beverly Hills, converting an office building near LAX into a luxury hotel, but might be considering a return to public office.

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