Florida Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll has apologized for stating that she could not have has sex with a woman because she does not look like a lesbian. She issued the apology to Equality Florida director Nadine Smith and stated in the faxed letter that “I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincerest apologies to anyone I may have offended with my recent comment. It is wrong and inexcusable to make a comment that hurts people, and that was not my intention.”

We are not sure just how hurt people were other than those who may have suffered from laughter induced cramps given Carroll’s ignorance of what a lesbian looks like. She may have insulted women like Portia Degeneres, the wife of Ellen Degeneres. Portia being a very femme lesbian.

Carroll continued in the letter stating that “As a Christian, my faith guides me to love and respect all people. The false charges that have been lodged against me are no excuse for what I have said that may have been hurtful to members of your organization and to other Floridians…I hope you will accept my heartfelt apology.”

Carletha Cole, a former employee of Carroll’s, alleges that she was fired because she walked in on Carroll having a tryst with Beatriz Ramos, Carroll’s travel director. She stated to a reporter that “For twenty-nine years, I’m the one that’s married for twenty-nine years. The accuser is the one that’s been single for a long time. So usually black women that look like me don’t engage in relationships like that.”

Ironically, former Senator Larry Craig has been married for the same amount of time as Carroll and was caught soliciting male companionship. Being married to someone for that length of time does not disqualify someone from being lesbian or gay. Nor, as mentioned, does how someone look determine their sexuality as there are many femme lesbians.

The Huffington Post notes:

Smith, a HuffPost blogger, not only received the letter of apology, but also spoke with Carroll by phone before releasing a statement of her own.

“On behalf of a Equality Florida, I want to thank Lt. Governor Carroll for taking responsibility for her words and for responding to the harm those words inflicted,” Smith wrote. “Apologies by elected leaders for public mistakes are rare and it is to the Lt. Governor’s credit that she has taken this step.”

Jennifer Carroll Apologizes