Rep. Christopher Lee is a married Republican congressman serving the 26th District of New York. But when he trolls Craigslist's "Women Seeking Men" forum, he's Christopher Lee, "divorced" "lobbyist" and "fit fun classy guy." One object of his flirtation told us her story.
On the morning of Friday, January 14, a single 34-year-old woman put an ad in the "Women for Men" section of Craigslist personals. "Will someone prove to me not all CL men look like toads?" she asked, inviting "financially & emotionally secure" men to reply.
That afternoon, a man named Christopher Lee replied. He used a Gmail account that Rep. Christopher Lee has since confirmed to be his own. (It's the same Gmail account that was associated with Lee's personal Facebook account, which the Congressman deleted when we started asking questions.)
The New York Republican was the subject of a Gawker story Wednesday morning that said he allegedly looked for a female companion on Craigslist despite having a wife and child. The picture in question showed him posing with dress pants and no shirt, and the Gawker story revealed a string of e-mails suggesting he was looking to meet women on the Internet.
His resignation was stunning for how quickly it happened. There was hardly enough time for the story to become a full-blown scandal — the picture was posted after lunch, and Lee had resigned before the nightly news.
vlad wrote:Maybe he thought it would get lost in the "series of tubes" and no one would notice. Word to the GOP and anyone. The internet is not private.
Former U.S. Rep. Chris Lee ironically wrote:
June 24, 2009 GUEST VIEW: Teen Internet safety must be a priority
By U.S. Rep. Chris Lee
The Tonawanda News Wed Jun 24, 2009, 01:36 AM EDT
Through the Internet, with a few keystrokes and the click of a button, a young person can call up information for a research project, make new friends or discover new hobbies.
At the same time, responding to what may seem like a friendly e-mail or an appealing marketing offer can have serious consequences. Private information and images can so easily be transmitted to friends and strangers alike.
Indeed, for as much promise as the Internet offers young people in the form of educational resources and social connections, there is great concern about the dangers and unknowns associated with a medium that is growing by several billion web pages per day.
A 2007 study conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children documented a number of alarming trends with regards to teen Internet usage. For instance, the study found that nearly seven in 10 teens regularly receive personal messages online from people they don’t know. Sixty-four percent post photos or videos of themselves, while 58 percent post info about where they live. Nearly two in 10 teens say they have been harassed or bullied online.
It is not difficult for parents to feel helpless when their children know more about how to navigate the Internet than they do. This is a challenge communities should confront together.
That’s why I recently helped pass the Student Internet Safety Act (H.R. 780), critical legislation that gives schools the tools they need to educate students on the dangers of the Internet.
Specifically, schools will have the ability to educate students about appropriate online behavior, protect them from online predators and promote the involvement of parents in Internet usage. Preparing families for what they might encounter on the Internet will make it that much easier to stop online predators in their tracks.
This bill achieves these goals at no additional cost to taxpayers by allowing states to make use of existing federal grant programs to develop and implement Internet safety initiatives. What’s more, local schools will have the ability to tailor these programs to their students without intervention from Washington.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has endorsed the Student Internet Safety Act.
Protecting our students is one of my highest priorities. Earlier this year, I introduced the Student Protection Act of 2009 (H.R. 781.) Also endorsed by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, this legislation would establish uniform rules for dealing with accusations of sexual abuse by school employees and a nationwide database of those convicted of such crimes. Schools should be a place of safety and learning, not danger and abuse, for our young people.
The Student Internet Safety Act represents an important step in our efforts to crack down on online predators, and I will continue to be a very vocal advocate for this measure while it is pending in the United States Senate.
Chris Lee is a Republican who represents New York’s 26th congressional district, which includes North Tonawanda.
