Out In The Mountains : News - A SafeSpace Opening Up

by Pat Robinson
OITM Staff Writer

January 1999:

Virginia State Rep. Thomas M. Davis III met with members of the Log Cabin Republican Club of Northern Virginia on Jan. 20th. This act was boldly condemned by the Family Research Council, a conservative Advocacy group based in Washington; and other prominent conservatives.
“These are constituents of mine...I have a long standing policy of meeting with everybody.” Davis continued his defense of the meeting by adding, “we’re interested in the votes of every American, and we think our economic policies empower every American.”

April 1999:

Governor George W. Bush began to flip flop over whether or not to meet with the Texas LCR, who were repeatedly and publicly refused a seat at the state convention.

May 1999:

     Georgia state GOP party leaders welcomed with open arms the Georgia Chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans.
      “The GOP’s apparent acceptance of the group is part of a growing trend of state parties reaching out to homosexuals,” said then Pres. Michael Brown. He also noted Florida’s recent recognition of the Broward County Log Cabin Club as an official GOP organization.
      Congressman Charlie Norwood (R-Georgia) put it this way: “I don’t think we can afford to run anybody off.”

August 1999:

New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was targeted in a protest by one gay group, Fed Up Queers, while he spoke to another, the Log Cabin Republicans. At the time, Giuliani was the leading Republican expected to run for Pat Moynihan’s Senate seat.

November 1999:

     Intent on getting an endorsement, Presidential candidate Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) met with members of the Log Cabin Club.
      “The Senator really reached out to us,” said Kevin Ivers, LCR communications director. McCain did not hesitate however, to voice his opposition to some key issues, including gay marriage.
      “There is still a chance for Bush,” Ivers added, whose campaign had just agreed to meet with the LCR.

April 2000:

Texas GOP Chairman Susan Weddington announced the day before the scheduled meeting with Gov. Bush that the Log Cabin Republicans would again be prevented from taking a booth at the state convention. Weddington denied that the party’s stance on LCR’s did not contradict Bush’s call for “inclusiveness,” calling it a business decision.
“We are working to resolve this situation with the Republican Party of Texas right now,” Steve Labinski, president of the Texas LCR. “No one wants to make George W. Bush look bad.”

July 2000:

     Wisconsin Gov. and GOP party platform chairman Tommy Thompson met with Rich Tafel, Executive Director of the LCR.
      Tafel called for a drop of the 1996 harsh language of the party’s anti-gay stance. Conservatives from the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition among others, applied pressure to assure that the 2000 Republican Party platform plank regarding gay civil rights read: “We do not believe sexual preference should be given any special protection or understanding in law.”
      In Texas, the Log Cabin Republicans are lauding the coming speech of Rep. Jim Kolbe at the Republican Nation Convention this year as historic. Up in arms conservatives re-affirmed the party’s position by reinserting anti-gay language.
      “This is being done to pander to the homosexual agenda,” said Cathy Adams, president of the Eagle Forum and member of the platform committee. “It’s hypocritical to have that plank, then invite an open homosexual to address our convention.”

August 2000:

The American Family Association circulates a sample letter addressed to the Party which demands that formal charges be brought against Rep. Jim Kolbe (R-Arizona) when he returns home because Arizona has a sodomy law.
The American Civil Liberties Union’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project said the threats should make clear the dangers of state sodomy laws across the country.

February 2001:

     Michigan conservatives are outraged as Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson challenges the charges made that his views on gay and lesbian civil rights disqualify him from taking a leadership role in the Republican Party.
      Patterson called for the Michigan Legislature to include sexual orientation in hate crimes legislation.
      “I think it is wrong for the Republican Party to attempt to align itself with homosexual activists,” offered Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan. He continued with, “There is no doubt in my mind that if the party embraces homosexual activists, they will deactivate and demoralize millions more Americans who believe in traditional values.”
      During Bush’s inauguration, people close to Patterson spoke to the Republican Unity Coalition. Newly formed, this group of gay and straight Republicans seeks to foster tolerance.
      “We have to practice the politics of addition rather than subtraction,” spokesman Sage Eastman added for the Michigan Republican Party.

May 2001:

     The Mayor of Melrose, Massachusetts, steps down to join the Swift Administration at the state house in Boston. Patrick C. Guerriero is an openly gay Republican.
      “It’s a privilege to serve Governor Swift as she moves ahead with an agenda that reflects the needs of families in cities and towns across the Commonwealth.”
       Guerriero’s duties include maintaining relations with city and town officials, as well as assisting with legislative issues. He is expected to join the Swift Administration in July.
      In Honolulu, Hawaii, local Log Cabin Republican Jeffrey Mead received a standing ovation after being the first of his organization to speak at any state GOP convention.
       Jeffrey Mead, a deacon in his church, had this to say: “Gay Republicans are committed to the party’s overall goals, such as reducing taxes, and are conservative and very religious. The gay liberationists who claim to represent the local gay community only represent a small portion of the population.”
      Hawaii party chairman Linda Lingle took a risk extending the invitation to speak to Mead.
      “If you listen to his remarks, he talks about compassion for people, freedom, things we care a lot about,” said Lingle. “I think it busts another stereotype, and our party has to do a little bit more of that.”

November 2001:

     An ad campaign called “United We Stand” is launched saying that the notion that gay Americans are second class citizens in the eyes of the law has lost its relevancy.
       The Liberty Education Forum, lead by Rich Tafel, LCR leader and speaker had this to say, “We are launching this campaign to focus on a real phenomenon all across the country, there is a growing realization that what unties us as Americans is much greater than what divides us.”
      Other gay leaders admitted “scratching their heads” over the campaign’s garbled message.
      Chad Johnson of the National Stonewall Democrats is doubly perplexed citing the following, that Rich Trafel signed on to a Stonewall statement pressing the Department of Justice to treat gay partners fairly when distributing funds throughout the federal September 9/11 Victims Fund.

January 2002:

     After only 6 months as the Deputy Chief of Staff to Massachusetts Gov. Jane Swift, Patrick C. Guerriero has resigned and declared his candidacy for Lt. Gov. Guerriero accepted the opportunity to run with Swift after four other men turned the chance down.
      In less than a week, a second, openly gay man declared himself a candidate. Daniel Grabauskas has given up his position as the Registrar of Motor Vehicles for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and has joined the race for Treasurer as a Republican.
      Jennifer Levi, senior staff attorney for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, is currently suing for the right for seven gay couples in Massachusetts to marry. Regarding the openness of the two openly gay Republican candidates, she said, “I don’t think the identifying characteristic of particular candidates alone changes the perception of the ticket, but I do think where people stand on issues of importance does change what voters might think about the ticket.”