Pennsylvania State Rep. Mike Fleck came out today in a long interview with the Huntingdon Daily News. As reported by the website Politics PA.com, he is now one of two openly gay Republican state legislators presently serving in the US.

'Coming out is hard enough, but doing it in the public eye is definitely something I never anticipated,' he said to the newspaper. 'I’m still the exact same person and I’m still a Republican and, most importantly, I’m still a person of faith trying to live life as a servant of God and the public. The only difference now is that I will also be doing so as honestly as I know how.'

The 39 year old is a graduate of Liberty University, a college founded by Rev. Jerry Falwell. The deceased minister was infamous for his anti-gay politics. From 1999 to 2004, Fleck was a district executive for the Boy Scouts of America. He was married in 2002, but divorced his wife last year. In 2006, he won a four-way primary and was unopposed in this year's election.

In the article, Fleck described the steps he took to live a heterosexual life.

'I sought out treatment from a Christian counselor, but when that didn’t work out, I engaged a secular therapist who told me point blank that I was gay and that I was too caught up in being the perfect Christian rather than actually being authentic and honest,' Fleck said.

His announcement is being well received by local LGBT advocates.

'There’s an opportunity here to have an open discussion in a new way,' Ted Martin, executive director of Equality Pennsylvania, said to the newspaper. 'There’s a real live voice to talk about it inside the Capitol, inside the Republican caucus. I hope Representative Fleck will want to work with us.'