INDIANAPOLIS – from www.ap.com – A Republican state lawmaker who allegedly offered to pay a man he met through Craigslist “for a really good time” now faces calls for his resignation.

Rep. Phillip Hinkle, 64, told the Indianapolis Star he doesn’t deny he sent emails to Kameryn Gibson over the weekend. Those emails were provided to the paper by Gibson’s sister, Megan.

Hinkle told the paper he was “aware of a shakedown taking place,” without elaborating. His attorney, Peter Nugent, said he didn’t know what Hinkle meant by that.

Nugent told The Associated Press on Friday that Hinkle would not comment on the allegations and that a private investigation is being conducted.

According to the Star, the emails suggest Hinkle responded to a Craigslist ad Gibson posted Aug. 6 in the “m4m,” or men for men, section. In the ad, Gibson purported to be 18 years old and wrote, “I need a sugga daddy.” Gibson told the Star he’s actually 20. There were conflicting reports about his age in media Friday night.

Emailing back-and-forth, Hinkle allegedly offered to pay Gibson up to $140 “for a really good time” and arranged to meet him at an upscale Indianapolis hotel Saturday night.

Gibson told the paper that when he and Hinkle were talking in a hotel room, he got cold feet after Hinkle mentioned he was a lawmaker. He said he tried to leave but Hinkle resisted, grabbing his rear end and exposing himself.

Gibson said no sexual activity took place and that he was eventually able to leave with the help of his sister Megan, who came to get him after he called her from the bathroom.

The Star reported that Megan Gibson said Hinkle offered them his BlackBerry, iPad and $100 after she threatened to call police and the media.

Nobody has sought charges against Hinkle or Gibson, and the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office has no immediate plans to seek charges, said Brienne Delaney, communications director for the prosecutor’s office. Indiana law broadly defines prostitution as any sexual contact or planned sexual contact in exchange for any amount of money or personal property.

Hinkle, who is married and represents sections of Pike and Wayne townships in Marion County, voted this year in favor of a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as being only between one man and one woman.

Gov. Mitch Daniels said Friday that he was saddened by the news, and that it’s up to Hinkle and those he represents to determine whether he should step aside. Daniels called the situation a “family tragedy.”

The Star reported on its website Friday evening that Marion County GOP Chairman Kyle Walker said he would “strongly recommend that Representative Hinkle resign his position so that he can focus on his family and not have this situation detract from that or the work that needs to continue in his legislative district.”

from www.washingtonindependent.com – Indiana State Rep. Phillip Hinkle has been accused of meeting an 18-year-old man on the website Craigslist.

The Indianapolis Star Tribune reports that Hinkle met the young man through a m4m — men for men — casual sex ad on the website. Email exchanges between Hinkle and Kameryn Gibson show the anti-gay politician offering to pay the young man $80 plus this statement in an email allegedly sent by the lawmaker:

“Final for the record, for a really good time, you could get another 50, 60 bucks. That sound good?”

Bil Browning, the owner and publisher of the Bilerico Project — a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender news website based in Indiana — says this is not the first time he has heard that Hinkle was having sex with men on the side. Browning advertised on his site for information about lawmakers who were closeted and voted for an anti-marriage equality amendment — which defines marriage as only being between a man and a woman — to the Indiana state constitution.

“I’ve followed Indiana’s closeted legislators for years and Rep Phil Hinkle’s sexuality has long been an open secret,” Browning said in an email.

“When I put out my call for information about anti-gay closet cases, tips about Phil were the clear majority. Sadly, none of the three young men I spoke to were willing to provide definitive proof that would tie them to the representative. All three had corresponding stories, but without being able to provide solid proof I decided not to run it. There are at least two other anti-gay Republican closet cases in the Indiana legislature and a few Democrats as well. Eventually they’ll also be exposed as the hypocrites they are.”

In addition to voting for the marriage amendment, Hinkle — who serves as the representative of the state’s 92nd House district — also opposes nondiscrimination legislation that would protect the LGBT community, the Indiana Family Institute 2008 voter guide reports (PDF). The leader of the IFI told TheIndyChannel.com that Hinkle’s ability to serve was “dramatically damaged,” but did not call for his resignation.

The station also reports that politicians in the state are tip-toeing around the issue of Hinkle’s liaison with Gibson, noting that Gov. Mitch Daniels, a Republican, had this to say about the situation:

“A family tragedy, very sad thing, nothing much more to say,” Daniels said. “Not for me to say (if he should resign). It’d be between him and his constituents.”

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Speaker of the Indiana House Brian C. Bosma (R-Indianapolis) said that if the situation as reported by the newspaper was accurate, it was “sad,” and the next move would be to meet with Hinkle. The station also reports that Hinkle has often bucked his party, putting him in a precarious situation with his leadership in the House.