For the past 14 years Ashburn has been a Republican senator who consistently voted against movements for gay rights, reports the Associated Press. But on a radio in his California district he came out out of the closet, saying: “I am gay… those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long.”

Ashburn is a 55-year-old father of four who stated he has always tried to keep his personal life separate from his professional life. But his recent drunk driving arrest brought both together under the public spotlight.

The senator was arrested near the Capitol in Sacramento on March 3rd for erratic driving. A breathalyzer test revealed Ashburn’s blood-alcohol level was .14, according to the Associated Press, well above the legal limit of .08.

After his arrest, news outlets reported that Ashburn was driving with an unidentified man in his government-owned car. The pair had allegedly left from Faces, a gay nightclub in the area.

Ashburn has been on leave from work since the arrest, but attended a Senate session where he was warmly received by Republicans and Democrats. The senator has basically tried to avoid the media, the Associated Press reported.

Ashburn has consistently voted against anything offering equality to gays, including a day of recognition for Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man elected to public office in California.

As far as his voting in the Senate is concerned, Ashburn says his votes don’t necessarily reflect his own views, they reflect the way he feels his constituents would want him to vote. He doesn’t believe his work is a place to bring his own “internal conflict.”

The senator asked for support from friends and family, and says he has no plans to run for further public office after his current term ends.

Rey Maualuga, a linebacker for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals,- was recently arrested in Covington, Kentucky, for allegedly driving under the influence.

The New York Times reported that Maualuga was arrested last Friday morning and held in the Kenton County Jail for seven hours before he was released.

Responding police officers said that Maualuga admitted to drinking “six captain and cokes,” a popular alcoholic beverage containing Captain Morgan spiced rum and Coca-Cola.

When he was arrested his blood alcohol content was .157, which is twice the legal limit of .08.

Police confirmed that Maualuga’s 2003 Pontiac hit a parking meter and two parked cars. There was minor damage to his car and no injuries were reported.

According to a USA today article, Maualuga made a public apology on his twitter account: “Sorry for bringing humiliation n embarrassment to this Organization n to dis great city of Cincinnati.” He later pleaded not guilty to the charges of drunken driving and careless driving.

But Maualuga was not the only one recently arrested for DUI.

Adrian Pasdar, the actor who played Nathan Petrelli on the popular NBC TV show “Heroes,” was also recently arrested for driving under the influence.

Pasdar was pulled over on Freeway 405 in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Highway Patrol clocked the star driving 90 miles per hour at 3 a.m. on a Wednesday. They also reported that Pasdar failed to maintain his lane.

The officers said they could smell alcohol as they approached his car. They requested Pasdar take a sobriety field test. Pasdar refused to take a breathalyzer to determine his BAC.

He was then arrested for suspicion of a DUI and was taken to the nearby county jail. Since he refused to take the breathalyzer test his bail was set at $15,000. No court date has been set for the actor at this point.

The Associated Press reports that Smith cited a desire to be a responsible asset to the community in his decision to plead guilty.

As a part of the guilty plea, Smith agreed to pay a $1,000 fine and was given a 90-day suspended sentence. In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped charges of speeding and refusing to take a breathalyzer test. Smith will also be required to take an alcohol safety program, and his driving privileges will be restricted.

Under the agreement, Smith can only drive when going to work, medical visits, visits with his mother, to the alcohol class and when he takes his children to school and to the doctor.

Smith was convicted of the DUI charge in General District court in July, and was allowed an appeal and a retrial. Smith made the plea agreement before going to retrial, which was scheduled to occur in the near future.

Smith said in a statement to reporters that the risk in the case would not be worth the reward, and that he thought he had only a 50 percent chance of getting out of the DUI charge. Even then, he would still have to negotiate the additional charges. As it is, he was able to come to a plea agreement that would allow him to, in his words, “take ownership of that evening.”

Smith also said that he would be hiring a former state trooper to accompany him to events at which he might be consuming alcohol. Of the night in question, Smith said that he spent the evening with friends, and that he had consumed some wine with dinner.

This is Smith’s third arrest for DUI. In 1997, a DUI conviction was later dismissed, and in 2003 he was acquitted of any charges.

As a member of the Buffalo Bills and the Washington Redskins, Smith amassed 200 sacks, which puts him at the top of the all-time list. He retired from the sport in 2003 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009.

According to a CNN article, Pratt was arrested last month for a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence while on the way home from a Hollywood nightclub.

Earlier in the evening, Pratt attended fellow cast member Holly Montag’s birthday party. She was pulled over by California police around 3:45 a.m., on her way home from the party.

Pratt was taken to the Van Nuys jail for booking and she was released later that morning.

Pratt’s BAC content was 0.09 percent which was over the legal limit of 0.08 in the state of California. She pleaded not guilty to the DUI charges at her LA court hearing this month.

Pratt decided to enter a 30-day rehab facility. She told PEOPLE magazine that it, “was the worst thing to happen to me and, at the same time, it was the biggest blessing.”

Pratt’s DUI attorney, Jon Bryant Artz, claimed she was pulled over by the police because she has tinted windows on her vehicle. He continued to claim Pratt failed her sobriety tests due to her four-inch heels.

Pratt was not the first of the ‘Laguna Beach’ or ‘The Hills’ cast to run into trouble with the law.

Jason Whaler – Lauren Conrad’s infamous boyfriend on both reality shows – was arrested on a few assault charges and possession of alcohol as a minor.

Jessica Smith – former girlfriend of Jason Whaler and ‘Laguna Beach’ cast member – was arrested in 2007 for driving under the influence, according to an article in PEOPLE magazine.

Smith was driving with one passenger in her vehicle on a freeway near Laguna when she allegedly rear-ended the vehicle in front of her.

Both her passenger and the driver in the other vehicle suffered from minor injuries. Smith did not suffer any injuries.

The California highway patrol said in a statement that incident was caused due to, “the level of intoxication, unsafe speed, and wet roadway conditions.”

Reality celebrities are not immune to DUIs. This latest celebrity DUI arrest serves as another reminder that drinking under the influence imposes consequences for all.

Heather Locklear was arrested back 2007 for suspicion of drinking and driving in Santa Barbara, Cali. A concerned driver on the road called the police stating Locklear was driving erratically on the road.

She plead no contest to DUI but pled guilty to a lesser charge of a misdemeanor of reckless driving. She paid a $700 fine and was sentenced to attend a 12 hour drug education program and placed on three years’ probation.

Lindsay Lohan received her DUI offense in 2007 as well. She pled no contest to driving under the influence and received three years probation. The judge also ordered her to serve 10 days community service, spend 30 days in drug rehab and complete an 18 month alcohol education program.

Her probation was recently extended as a Beverly Hills judge stated Lohan did not complete the required treatment programs because she filmed out of state. Her DUI attorney claims she can finish the required programs and feels they can overturn the extension.

Actress Joyce Dewitt was arrested in July of 2009 under a suspicion of a driving under the influence. She allegedly drove through a barricade attracting the local police department.

When they walked up to her car they could smell alcohol.  They gave her the regulated field tests and afterward she was arrested. Dewitt was released after posting $5000 bail.

Is there a connection with female celebs and the increasing percentage of females being arrested for driving under the influence? Many might look up to these famous women and follow the trend. Or could it be the increasing pressure of the economic times as many women are strong in the workforce.

At this point there are many possibilities as to why this is on the rise with woman in the U.S., but it’s only speculation at this point.

In either event, even the veil of stardom can’t hide the indiscretion of stars such as the star of the USA Network’s Burn Notice Jeffrey Donavan.

Donavan was arrested in Miami for a DUI offense while presumably there shooting his widely popular spy series. Maybe his new notice should be less about being burnt and more about responsible alcohol consumption.

Then there is the similar negligence by Joyce DeWitt who proved three’s a company, but it can be taken too far when drinks are poured at the Regal Beagle.

According to police documents, DeWitt drove right passed a police barricade, and when cops pulled her over, they say she smelled like alcohol. Unfortunately for Joyce she then failed a sobriety test.

Donavan, DeWitt and many other stars and starlets who are arrested for a DUI offense almost on a weekly basis, certainly it could be thought that many believe their personal “star status” will keep them from having to serve jail time or pay hefty fines for their offenses.

The reality is though, police stations in Hollywood, New York and Miami have strong records of treating big screen heroes like average Joes when it comes to drinking and driving.

Even for those premier athletes who take to their city streets in celebration. They too are not above the law. Just ask Brian Bosworth, Michael Phelps and Charles Barkley.

While the nation as a whole might place our entertainment and sports stars on pedestals, which often times blind us to their moral uncertainty, or shade our view from their societal indiscretions, it seems as though they are not released from the laws of responsibility when it comes to DUI.

While out boating with friends in his home state of Texas, Benson’s watercraft was stopped for a safety check by the Lower Colorado River Authority.

Benson’s DUI arrest had an unusual level of drama for a DUI stop, due to the fact that he was reportedly attacked with pepper spray and roughed up a bit after allegedly resisting arrest.  Benson claims that others on his boat were drinking, but that he was not, and was not drunk at the time of his arrest.

Benson was charged with resisting arrest and drunken boating.  He’ll get his chance to defend his DUI offense; there is no word on how the arrest will affect Benson’s status with his employers, the Chicago Bears.

Sutherland had pleaded no contest to having a blood alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08, which netted him 30 days in the clink, plus another 18 for the violation of probation.

However, the production of the hit TV show “24,” which features Sutherland as inimitable and intimidating special agent Jack Bauer, has been halted due to the Writer’s Guild of America’s writer’s strike.

Leyritz is reportedly in the Broward County Jail in Florida on $11,000 bond after he refused a breathalyzer test.

He was arrested after he lost control of a Ford SUV and struck another vehicle in an intersection.  The impact of the crash caused the other vehicle to roll, ejecting the female driver and killing her.

True to form, TMZ has the photo shot at Leyritz’s booking—truly scary!

Enjoy two of our recent roundup articles, exclusive to Total DUI.

Ever hear that those who can’t do teach?  How about a twist on this old saying: those who DUI, teach?

And who could forget those celebrities who have shared this year with us?

Read about Michelle Rodriguez, Kiefer Sutherland and Lindsay Lohan in the top 10 celebrity DUI arrests of 2007.