North Dakota state Rep. Randy Boehning (R) sent an explicit photo of himself to another man and claims “the exchange being made public is retaliation for a recent vote against expanding gay rights,” the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reports.

“The exchange came to light when Dustin Smith, a 21-year-old Bismarck man with no known connections to the Capitol, contacted The Forum earlier this month, saying he recognized Boehning from a gay dating smartphone app called Grindr. Chatting under the user name Top Man!, Boehning sent Smith sexually suggestive messages and, in the early morning hours of March 12, an unsolicited photo of his penis.”

But Boehning is glad he was outed: “The 1,000-pound gorilla has been lifted. I have to confront it at some point.”