The gay son of a Colorado lawmaker was outed by his mother's own campaign, which sent out an e-mail touting her vote against the state's civil unions bill.

The Denver Post reports that while it wasn't a secret at the statehouse that state Rep. Marsha Looper, R-El Paso, is one of at least four Republicans in the Legislature with a gay child, an "unwritten courtesy" has been to leave it to the lawmaker to decide whether to reveal that information. Looper said she had been asked by some voters about her son's sexuality and that she answered honestly, but never meant for it to become so public.

"I'm very, very disappointed," Looper told the newspaper of the e-mail making its way among El Paso County voters. "These are very intimate issues. I love my son. I always will. He has said, 'Mom, I want my privacy.'"

Looper said she doesn't know who wrote the e-mail, which was forwarded by campaign manager Lana Fore-Warkocz last month.