Gay Democratic congressional candidate Chris Gallant has responded after old fetish modelling photos resurfaced online, saying consensual images from a past relationship are being “distorted and weaponised for political purposes”.
Gallant, who is running against Republican incumbent Nick LaLota in New York’s 1st Congressional District, appeared in photographs used by San Francisco leather and fetish retailer Mr. S Leather more than a decade ago.
The images show Gallant modelling collars, harnesses and other BDSM gear, while some more explicit photographs reportedly circulated elsewhere online.
Gallant has not disputed that the photographs are of him.
Instead, his lawyer says they came from a consensual shoot involving Gallant and a former long-term partner — and argues they have nothing to do with his qualifications for public office.
Gallant’s Lawyer Confirms The Photos
Attorney Sara Azari said the photographs were taken during a private and consensual photo session involving Gallant and the man who was then his partner.
According to Azari, Gallant was also friends with the owner of Mr. S Leather and agreed that selected images could be used in connection with some of the company’s products.
Archived versions of the retailer’s website show Gallant appearing in product imagery over several years.
“As Chris began considering a future in public service, he asked that the photographs no longer be used and that they be removed from the company’s website,” Azari said.
She added that Mr. S Leather honoured that request.
More explicit material subsequently appeared on third-party adult websites, but Gallant’s lawyer says his agreement with Mr. S Leather did not authorise unrestricted republication elsewhere.
‘They Have No Bearing On His Ability To Serve’
Gallant’s team has pushed back strongly against suggestions that the photographs constitute a political scandal.
“He will not allow photographs from a past relationship or employment to be distorted and weaponised for political purposes or used to distract voters from the issues that matter,” Azari said.
“These photographs have no bearing on Chris’s record, qualifications, judgment, or ability to serve.”
That distinction matters.
There is no allegation that Gallant’s participation in the shoot was illegal, non-consensual or involved misconduct.
The political controversy instead centres on the fact that an openly gay congressional candidate once modelled fetish gear and participated in sexually explicit imagery.
For LGBTQ+ voters, that raises a familiar question: why should consensual adult sexuality automatically become evidence against someone seeking public office?
From Leather Gear To Congress
Gallant, 37, has built his campaign around a very different part of his biography.
He has served in the Army National Guard since his teens and is a Black Hawk helicopter pilot. He has also worked as a Federal Aviation Administration air traffic controller, served as a union leader and volunteered as a firefighter.
He won the Democratic primary in June and will face LaLota in the 3 November general election.
Gallant is openly gay and has previously appeared at LGBTQ+ events, including Fire Island’s long-running Invasion of the Pines celebration.
His campaign has emphasised affordability, healthcare, reproductive rights, infrastructure and protections for working families.
When Queer Sexuality Becomes Opposition Research
Politicians should be scrutinised for their conduct, policy positions and use of power.
But consensual adult sexual expression is a different matter.
Leather, kink and BDSM have long histories within LGBTQ+ communities, particularly among gay men, and involvement in those cultures is not inherently evidence of poor judgement or unfitness for office.
That does not mean voters are required to like Gallant, support his politics or approve of every photograph he has ever taken.
It simply means the relevant question should be whether his past actions involved wrongdoing.
So far, no such allegation has emerged from this story.
What has emerged is a series of old consensual photographs — and a political campaign now having to explain why they should not matter more than Gallant’s actual record.
