Log Cabin Republicans
Encyclopedia
The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization that works within the Republican Party
to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gay
s and lesbian
s in the United States
with state
chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C.
The group's constituency supports the Republican Party and advocates for the rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
LCR claims to be the only Republican organization dedicated to representing the interests of LGBT
Americans and their allies. The 30-year old organization has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
In May 2010, the National Board of Directors named R. Clarke Cooper
as the organization's new Executive Director. Cooper also serves as President of the Liberty Education Forum, a non-partisan educational foundation that is associated with LCR that informs conservatives and people of faith about issues affecting gay and lesbian Americans. Cooper is a veteran of the George W. Bush Administration. He last served as a Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) for U.N. management and reform where advocated for transparency, accountability and reform of the UN. Prior to Cooper, Patrick Sammon led the organizations on an interim basis. Previous leaders of the group have been its founding Executive Director, Richard L. Tafel (October 1993 to January 1, 2003), and his successor, Patrick Guerriero
(January 1, 2003 to September 2006).
, Abraham Lincoln
, who was born in a log cabin
. Many of the persons involved in Log Cabin Republicans are also involved in The Liberty Education Forum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization.
Log Cabin Republicans was founded in 1977 in California
as a rallying point for Republicans opposed to the Briggs Initiative, which attempted to ban homosexuals from teaching in public schools. The California organization had initially popularized the "Log Cabin Republicans" name, so the national organization adopted the name as well.
According to their website, the California group initially proposed to name themselves Lincoln Club, but found that name was already in use by another California Republican organization. Thus, an alternative name was chosen that still evoked the memory of President Lincoln: Log Cabin Republicans.
Their website further states, "The GOP rose to power because it embraced the ideals of equality imagined by our nation's founding fathers and ensured by our Constitution. When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a 'new birth of freedom,' was indeed given to our country. Now, more than 150 years later, the GOP has another chance to choose fairness over discrimination, equality over bigotry, hope over fear, and freedom over oppression."
The organization originally featured a portrait of Lincoln on its website and other publicity material. They invoke Lincoln's name, image and birth site ostensibly to emphasize the Republican party's history of fighting for liberty and equality.
, Texas
, a Houston
exurb. It was the first time LCR had such a large presence of the major national press at a convention. LCR also had two open delegates: Martin K. Keller and Frank N. Ricchiazzi. Both delegates were appointed by Governor of California
Pete Wilson
. The big issue was whether or not LCR would endorse the re-election of President George H. W. Bush
. The group voted to deny that endorsement, based on homophobic decisions made during the 1992 Republican National Convention that preceded it in Houston.
, returned the LCR's $1,000 campaign contribution. The campaign returned the contribution after openly lesbian columnist, Deb Price, of the Detroit News, asked about it after she saw it on a public report from the Federal Elections Commission. The campaign sent a written statement to Price saying that Dole was in "100% disagreement with the agenda of the Log Cabin Republicans."
The story took on prominence in the media when it was revealed before it was returned, the finance office of the campaign had solicited the contribution from LCR. At the event where it was given, Dole had personally spoken with LCR's then-executive director, Rich Tafel, about the group and about AIDS legislation it was promoting in the Senate. Weeks earlier, Dole agreed to co-sponsor the legislation after a meeting with Tafel at the campaign's headquarters. It resulted in a front-page story in The New York Times
, penned by Richard L. Berke, then-chief political reporter for the daily.
As reporters, including Berke, were seeking confirmation of the story before it broke, Dole's finance chairman, John Moran, asked Tafel not to speak to the press and that Tafel's "steadfastness and statesmanship at this moment will be handsomely appreciated in the long run by the campaign." Tafel refused.
Leading pundits accused Dole of being a "flip-flopper and a hypocrite." Editorials ran in major newspapers, including the Washington Post, The New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Times of London, condemning Dole's action, joined by radio commentators Rush Limbaugh
and Don Imus
. Under the pressure, Dole admitted during an October 1995 press briefing on Capitol Hill that he regretted the decision to return the check, and that his campaign was responsible for it without consulting him. "I think if they'd have consulted me, we wouldn't have done that, wouldn't have returned it," Dole said. In fact, Dole was privately angered by the action when he first learned of it but chose to defend his campaign manager for fear of facing the same problems he had second-guessing his staff in his failed 1988 bid. Dole later told Washington Post editor and author Bob Woodward
that the LCR episode was a "mistake" because the decision to return the check "gets into Bob Dole the person. It's not so much about Bob Dole the candidate. It's the person. Is he tolerant? Does he tolerate different views? Tolerate someone with a different lifestyle?" He added, "This is basic, this is what people ought to know about you. Are you going to just do this because it sounds good politically?"
LCR's leadership met with Dole's coalitions manager to discuss an endorsement after Dole's reversal. Among various items, Tafel demanded there be no gay bashing in the speeches from the podium of the 1996 Republican National Convention
, nor any anti-homosexual signs on the convention floor, in stark contrast to the previous party convention in 1992. He also wanted to see a gay person address the convention and a public request from Dole's campaign for the LCR nod. On the closing night of the Convention, Stephen Fong, then-president of the San Francisco chapter, spoke at the dais as part of a series of speeches from "mainstreet Americans," but was not publicly identified as gay. Nevertheless, his presence on the podium for the organization and for the gay and lesbian community "was something that would have been unimaginable four years earlier," Tafel later wrote. Two days later, Dole spokesperson Christina Martin told a reporter that the campaign "welcomed the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans." LCR voted to endorse Dole for President, and then-Republican National Committee
chairman Haley Barbour
approved the use of the RNC's press briefing room for Tafel, LCR's convention delegates and officers of its national board to announce their decision.
Later in the campaign, Tafel met with Dole's chief aide Sheila Burke, and the remaining demands LCR made for their endorsement were met. In a statement released by LCR, and confirmed to reporters by the campaign, Dole had pledged to maintain an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal workforce and full funding for AIDS programs. Dole would go on to win 23% of the gay and lesbian vote but would lose the election to Bill Clinton
.
-Sarah Palin
ticket in the 2008 presidential election
. LCR President Patrick Sammon said the most important reason for their support was McCain's opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment
to ban same-sex marriage
.
.
, strong defense
, free market
s, personal responsibility, and individual liberty
. LCR represents an important part of the American family—taxpaying, hard working people who proudly believe in this nation's greatness." They take no position on abortion.
But LCR dissents from socially conservative Republican views on matters relating to gay and lesbian rights. "We also believe all Americans have the right to liberty, freedom, and equality," it says. "Log Cabin stands up against those who preach hatred and intolerance
. We stand up for the idea that all Americans deserve to be treated equally—regardless of their sexual orientation
."
Since 1977, LCR has expanded across the United States and has 43 chapters, representing 26 states and the District of Columbia. Log Cabin has thousands of members nationwide and a staff of registered lobbyists in Washington, D.C. In addition to this, the Log Cabin Republicans hold an annual convention in different cities around the country, and raise funds which are donated to Republican officeholders and candidates, in local, state and federal races, who are sympathetic to LGBT issues. The archives of the Log Cabin Republicans are held within the Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Minnesota under Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies.
during his term. Although he vetoed a controversial bill in 2005 that would allow same-sex marriage (which would have been the first such legislatively enacted law in the US), he has signed 21 other LGBT
progressive bills into law. In fact, according to official records, the Log Cabin Republicans PAC raised $10,000 for "Californians for Schwarzenegger" in 2006.
Log Cabin Republicans were only one of two Republican organizations that were involved as sponsors for Schwarzenegger's 2007 inauguration according to the program brochure.
In late February, 2008, Huffington Post blogger Ryan J. Davis
flew out to Hollywood to join a coalition of gay and lesbian activists led by Log Cabin Republican leaders to lobby Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver
to publicly oppose the Family Research Council
's Anti-Gay Marriage initiative. One of the group's main organizers, Kevin Norte, wrote on the California LCR blog, "Someone had to fire the first shot. We did. We had some powerhouses there and the message was clear. We were not going away."
The LCR coalition had a broad base, including Matt Foreman
, Executive Director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Damon Romine, Entertainment Media Director of GLAAD; Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California
; Charles Robbins, Executive Director of The Trevor Project
; John Duran
, President of Equality California and Mayor of West Hollywood; Charles T. Moran, Chapter President of LCR Los Angeles; James Vaughn, Director of LCR California; and financial sponsors Don Norte of the Governor's Committee on Employment for People With Disabilities, and Kevin Norte, a member of the Board of Directors of the LCR California PAC
.
On April 11, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger came out officially against the Initiative at LCR's National Convention.
After the California Supreme Court ruling recognizing same-sex marriages on May 15, 2008, LCR's Kevin Norte wrote an opinion piece in the Metropolitan News-Enterprise of Los Angeles on May 21, 2008 (also posted on the group's blog) that called the initiative to stop same-sex marriages into question. Norte questioned whether the California Supreme Court's ruling on the same-sex marriage in California
cases, which found several constitutional rights under the California Constitution
to permit such marriages and that it changed the dynamics of the process because he argued that it was originally an initiative and the signature collection process informed voters that the initiative would not change current law. The facts and circumstances, he claimed, were different because the Court recognized the right to marry as a right to privacy in marrying the person of one's choice, a right to free speech, a fundamental right to marry, and equal protection. He pondered whether those constitutional rights could be simply abolished by a voter initiative or should the amendment be removed because a constitutional convention would have to be held to remove fundamental rights.
The legal analyst explored the topic further in another expanded article in the Met-News on June 17, 2008 (again also posted on the group's blog), the first full day same-sex marriage became legal in California. The legal education piece was entitled, "Election Law: How One Legally Might Remove a Ballot Initiative Prior to an Election." Norte pointed out that the language of the initiative was flawed and out-dated due to recent events. The legal analyst concluded that one could legitimately argue that the Court order the "California Secretary of State, to remove the proposed 'Limit on Marriage' Constitutional Amendment Initiative [Proposition 8
] from the November, 2008 ballot."
On June 20, 2008, the pro-same-sex marriage parties file a Writ of Mandate in the California Supreme Court in San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle reporter Bob Elko reported that the coalition filed a writ to seek removal of the initiative. The grounds stated in the writ petition were similar to those discussed in both the May 21, 2008 and June 17, 2008 articles authored by Norte, but failed to reference the official reporter pages of the case. Norte's second article contained the proper citations.
" (DADT) policy, which excludes homosexuals from openly serving in the U. S. military, went to trial on July 13, 2010, presided by Judge Virginia Phillips. LCR argued that the policy violates the rights of homosexual military members to free speech, due process and open association. The government argued that DADT was necessary to advance a legitimate governmental interest. LCR introduced several admissions by President Barack Obama
, including that DADT "doesn’t contribute to our national security," "weakens our national security," and that reversing DADT is "essential for our national security". Rather than address plaintiff's claims or bring evidence to support their own claims of national interest, the government relied exclusively on the policy's 1993 legislative history.
On September 9, 2010, Phillips ruled in favor of plaintiffs, finding that DADT violates the First
and Fifth
Amendments to the United States Constitution.
After another year of legal wrangling, on September 29, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
vacated the district court's decision, ruling that the legislative repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" in December 2010 rendered the case moot
. The dismissal left the lower court ruling without value as precedent
.
Governor Christine Todd Whitman
's It's My Party Too, Ann Stone's Republicans for Choice
, The Republican Majority for Choice
, The Wish List
, Republicans for Environmental Protection, and The Republican Main Street Partnership
. In the last several years, these groups united to do political combat with social conservatives to re-assert the role of centrists and traditional conservatives in the Republican party. Christine Todd Whitman spoke at the LCR convention in 2005 and appeared at an LCR event in Cincinnati in 2006.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s and lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
s in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
The group's constituency supports the Republican Party and advocates for the rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
LCR claims to be the only Republican organization dedicated to representing the interests of LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
Americans and their allies. The 30-year old organization has state and local chapters nationwide, a full-time office in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee and state political action committees.
In May 2010, the National Board of Directors named R. Clarke Cooper
R. Clarke Cooper
R. Clarke Cooper is an American political figure. Cooper was appointed Executive Director of Log Cabin Republicans in 2010.- Military service :Cooper accepted commission as a Second Lieutenant in August 2001...
as the organization's new Executive Director. Cooper also serves as President of the Liberty Education Forum, a non-partisan educational foundation that is associated with LCR that informs conservatives and people of faith about issues affecting gay and lesbian Americans. Cooper is a veteran of the George W. Bush Administration. He last served as a Counselor at the United States Mission to the United Nations (USUN) for U.N. management and reform where advocated for transparency, accountability and reform of the UN. Prior to Cooper, Patrick Sammon led the organizations on an interim basis. Previous leaders of the group have been its founding Executive Director, Richard L. Tafel (October 1993 to January 1, 2003), and his successor, Patrick Guerriero
Patrick Guerriero
Patrick Guerriero, a former Massachusetts state legislator, mayor and advocate for equality, is a founding partner of , a Washington, D.C.-based government affairs firm. Working on the local, state and federal level for two decades, Guerriero has advised and counseled many of the nation's leading...
(January 1, 2003 to September 2006).
History
The name of the organization is a reference to the first Republican President of the United StatesPresident of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, who was born in a log cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
. Many of the persons involved in Log Cabin Republicans are also involved in The Liberty Education Forum, a 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization.
Log Cabin Republicans was founded in 1977 in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
as a rallying point for Republicans opposed to the Briggs Initiative, which attempted to ban homosexuals from teaching in public schools. The California organization had initially popularized the "Log Cabin Republicans" name, so the national organization adopted the name as well.
According to their website, the California group initially proposed to name themselves Lincoln Club, but found that name was already in use by another California Republican organization. Thus, an alternative name was chosen that still evoked the memory of President Lincoln: Log Cabin Republicans.
Their website further states, "The GOP rose to power because it embraced the ideals of equality imagined by our nation's founding fathers and ensured by our Constitution. When Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, a 'new birth of freedom,' was indeed given to our country. Now, more than 150 years later, the GOP has another chance to choose fairness over discrimination, equality over bigotry, hope over fear, and freedom over oppression."
The organization originally featured a portrait of Lincoln on its website and other publicity material. They invoke Lincoln's name, image and birth site ostensibly to emphasize the Republican party's history of fighting for liberty and equality.
Support withheld for re-election of President George H. W. Bush
The 1992 Log Cabin Republican convention was held in SpringSpring, Texas
Spring, Texas is a census-designated place within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of Houston in Harris County, Texas, United States, north of Downtown Houston. The population was 54,298 at the 2010 census...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, a Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
exurb. It was the first time LCR had such a large presence of the major national press at a convention. LCR also had two open delegates: Martin K. Keller and Frank N. Ricchiazzi. Both delegates were appointed by Governor of California
Governor of California
The Governor of California is the chief executive of the California state government, whose responsibilities include making annual State of the State addresses to the California State Legislature, submitting the budget, and ensuring that state laws are enforced...
Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
. The big issue was whether or not LCR would endorse the re-election of President George H. W. Bush
George H. W. Bush
George Herbert Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 41st President of the United States . He had previously served as the 43rd Vice President of the United States , a congressman, an ambassador, and Director of Central Intelligence.Bush was born in Milton, Massachusetts, to...
. The group voted to deny that endorsement, based on homophobic decisions made during the 1992 Republican National Convention that preceded it in Houston.
National prominence during Dole presidential campaign
In August 1995, the group gained significant national attention when the campaign of Republican presidential candidate, Bob DoleBob Dole
Robert Joseph "Bob" Dole is an American attorney and politician. Dole represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996, was Gerald Ford's Vice Presidential running mate in the 1976 presidential election, and was Senate Majority Leader from 1985 to 1987 and in 1995 and 1996...
, returned the LCR's $1,000 campaign contribution. The campaign returned the contribution after openly lesbian columnist, Deb Price, of the Detroit News, asked about it after she saw it on a public report from the Federal Elections Commission. The campaign sent a written statement to Price saying that Dole was in "100% disagreement with the agenda of the Log Cabin Republicans."
The story took on prominence in the media when it was revealed before it was returned, the finance office of the campaign had solicited the contribution from LCR. At the event where it was given, Dole had personally spoken with LCR's then-executive director, Rich Tafel, about the group and about AIDS legislation it was promoting in the Senate. Weeks earlier, Dole agreed to co-sponsor the legislation after a meeting with Tafel at the campaign's headquarters. It resulted in a front-page story in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, penned by Richard L. Berke, then-chief political reporter for the daily.
As reporters, including Berke, were seeking confirmation of the story before it broke, Dole's finance chairman, John Moran, asked Tafel not to speak to the press and that Tafel's "steadfastness and statesmanship at this moment will be handsomely appreciated in the long run by the campaign." Tafel refused.
Leading pundits accused Dole of being a "flip-flopper and a hypocrite." Editorials ran in major newspapers, including the Washington Post, The New York Times, the Boston Globe, the Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Times of London, condemning Dole's action, joined by radio commentators Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and Don Imus
Don Imus
John Donald "Don" Imus, Jr. is an American radio host, humorist, philanthropist and writer. His nationally-syndicated talk show, Imus in the Morning, is broadcast throughout the United States by Citadel Media and relayed on television by the Fox Business Network.-Personal life:Imus was born in...
. Under the pressure, Dole admitted during an October 1995 press briefing on Capitol Hill that he regretted the decision to return the check, and that his campaign was responsible for it without consulting him. "I think if they'd have consulted me, we wouldn't have done that, wouldn't have returned it," Dole said. In fact, Dole was privately angered by the action when he first learned of it but chose to defend his campaign manager for fear of facing the same problems he had second-guessing his staff in his failed 1988 bid. Dole later told Washington Post editor and author Bob Woodward
Bob Woodward
Robert Upshur Woodward is an American investigative journalist and non-fiction author. He has worked for The Washington Post since 1971 as a reporter, and is currently an associate editor of the Post....
that the LCR episode was a "mistake" because the decision to return the check "gets into Bob Dole the person. It's not so much about Bob Dole the candidate. It's the person. Is he tolerant? Does he tolerate different views? Tolerate someone with a different lifestyle?" He added, "This is basic, this is what people ought to know about you. Are you going to just do this because it sounds good politically?"
LCR's leadership met with Dole's coalitions manager to discuss an endorsement after Dole's reversal. Among various items, Tafel demanded there be no gay bashing in the speeches from the podium of the 1996 Republican National Convention
1996 Republican National Convention
The 1996 National Convention of the Republican Party of the United States convened at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, California, from August 12 to August 15, 1996...
, nor any anti-homosexual signs on the convention floor, in stark contrast to the previous party convention in 1992. He also wanted to see a gay person address the convention and a public request from Dole's campaign for the LCR nod. On the closing night of the Convention, Stephen Fong, then-president of the San Francisco chapter, spoke at the dais as part of a series of speeches from "mainstreet Americans," but was not publicly identified as gay. Nevertheless, his presence on the podium for the organization and for the gay and lesbian community "was something that would have been unimaginable four years earlier," Tafel later wrote. Two days later, Dole spokesperson Christina Martin told a reporter that the campaign "welcomed the endorsement of the Log Cabin Republicans." LCR voted to endorse Dole for President, and then-Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
chairman Haley Barbour
Haley Barbour
Haley Reeves Barbour is an American Republican politician currently serving as the 63rd Governor of Mississippi. He gained a national spotlight in August 2005 after Mississippi was hit by Hurricane Katrina. Barbour won re-election as Governor in 2007...
approved the use of the RNC's press briefing room for Tafel, LCR's convention delegates and officers of its national board to announce their decision.
Later in the campaign, Tafel met with Dole's chief aide Sheila Burke, and the remaining demands LCR made for their endorsement were met. In a statement released by LCR, and confirmed to reporters by the campaign, Dole had pledged to maintain an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal workforce and full funding for AIDS programs. Dole would go on to win 23% of the gay and lesbian vote but would lose the election to Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
.
2008 Presidential election
In September 2008, the group voted to endorse the John McCainJohn McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
-Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
ticket in the 2008 presidential election
United States presidential election, 2008
The United States presidential election of 2008 was the 56th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on November 4, 2008. Democrat Barack Obama, then the junior United States Senator from Illinois, defeated Republican John McCain, the senior U.S. Senator from Arizona. Obama received 365...
. LCR President Patrick Sammon said the most important reason for their support was McCain's opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment
Federal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
to ban same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
.
Schism
In April 2009, LCR experienced a split in their leadership and constituency when a faction of LCR staff withdrew and formed the more conservative organization GOProudGOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
.
Platform
The LCR stresses its loyalty to the Republican Party: "We are loyal Republicans," its website says. "We believe in low taxes, limited governmentLimited government
Limited government is a government which anything more than minimal governmental intervention in personal liberties and the economy is generally disallowed by law, usually in a written constitution. It is written in the United States Constitution in Article 1, Section 8...
, strong defense
Defense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
, free market
Free market
A free market is a competitive market where prices are determined by supply and demand. However, the term is also commonly used for markets in which economic intervention and regulation by the state is limited to tax collection, and enforcement of private ownership and contracts...
s, personal responsibility, and individual liberty
Liberty
Liberty is a moral and political principle, or Right, that identifies the condition in which human beings are able to govern themselves, to behave according to their own free will, and take responsibility for their actions...
. LCR represents an important part of the American family—taxpaying, hard working people who proudly believe in this nation's greatness." They take no position on abortion.
But LCR dissents from socially conservative Republican views on matters relating to gay and lesbian rights. "We also believe all Americans have the right to liberty, freedom, and equality," it says. "Log Cabin stands up against those who preach hatred and intolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
. We stand up for the idea that all Americans deserve to be treated equally—regardless of their sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
."
Membership
California
The California Log Cabin Republicans supported Republican Governor Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
during his term. Although he vetoed a controversial bill in 2005 that would allow same-sex marriage (which would have been the first such legislatively enacted law in the US), he has signed 21 other LGBT
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
progressive bills into law. In fact, according to official records, the Log Cabin Republicans PAC raised $10,000 for "Californians for Schwarzenegger" in 2006.
Log Cabin Republicans were only one of two Republican organizations that were involved as sponsors for Schwarzenegger's 2007 inauguration according to the program brochure.
In late February, 2008, Huffington Post blogger Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis
Ryan J. Davis is an American theater director, writer, political consultant, and progressive activist. In 2006, a musical he conceived, White Noise received positive reviews and was featured on Good Morning America and ABC Primetime Live...
flew out to Hollywood to join a coalition of gay and lesbian activists led by Log Cabin Republican leaders to lobby Governor Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver
Maria Shriver
Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist and author of six best-selling books. She has received a Peabody Award, and was co-anchor for NBC's Emmy-winning coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics. As executive producer of The Alzheimer's Project, Shriver earned two Emmy Awards and an Academy of...
to publicly oppose the Family Research Council
Family Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative or right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was fully incorporated in 1983...
's Anti-Gay Marriage initiative. One of the group's main organizers, Kevin Norte, wrote on the California LCR blog, "Someone had to fire the first shot. We did. We had some powerhouses there and the message was clear. We were not going away."
The LCR coalition had a broad base, including Matt Foreman
Matt Foreman (gay rights activist)
Matt Foreman is an American lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activist.As of April 2008, Foreman will lead the Gay & Lesbian Program at the Evelyn & Walter Haas, Jr. Fund. The Haas, Jr...
, Executive Director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; Damon Romine, Entertainment Media Director of GLAAD; Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California
Equality California
Equality California or EQCA is a non-profit civil rights organization that advocates for the rights of LGBT people in California.-Early history:...
; Charles Robbins, Executive Director of The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project
The Trevor Project is an American non-profit organization founded in 1998 and the leading national organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth. Through a toll-free telephone number, it operates The Trevor Lifeline, a...
; John Duran
John Duran
John J. Duran is an American municipal politician and a member of the city council of West Hollywood, California.-Political career:Duran was elected to the City Council on March 6, 2001. He succeeded outgoing City Council member Paul Koretz who was elected to the State Assembly. He had previously...
, President of Equality California and Mayor of West Hollywood; Charles T. Moran, Chapter President of LCR Los Angeles; James Vaughn, Director of LCR California; and financial sponsors Don Norte of the Governor's Committee on Employment for People With Disabilities, and Kevin Norte, a member of the Board of Directors of the LCR California PAC
Political action committee
In the United States, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect political candidates or to advance the outcome of a political issue or legislation. Legally, what constitutes a "PAC" for purposes of regulation is a...
.
On April 11, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger came out officially against the Initiative at LCR's National Convention.
After the California Supreme Court ruling recognizing same-sex marriages on May 15, 2008, LCR's Kevin Norte wrote an opinion piece in the Metropolitan News-Enterprise of Los Angeles on May 21, 2008 (also posted on the group's blog) that called the initiative to stop same-sex marriages into question. Norte questioned whether the California Supreme Court's ruling on the same-sex marriage in California
Same-sex marriage in California
The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so...
cases, which found several constitutional rights under the California Constitution
California Constitution
The document that establishes and describes the duties, powers, structure and function of the government of the U.S. state of California. The original constitution, adopted in November 1849 in advance of California attaining U.S. statehood in 1850, was superseded by the current constitution, which...
to permit such marriages and that it changed the dynamics of the process because he argued that it was originally an initiative and the signature collection process informed voters that the initiative would not change current law. The facts and circumstances, he claimed, were different because the Court recognized the right to marry as a right to privacy in marrying the person of one's choice, a right to free speech, a fundamental right to marry, and equal protection. He pondered whether those constitutional rights could be simply abolished by a voter initiative or should the amendment be removed because a constitutional convention would have to be held to remove fundamental rights.
The legal analyst explored the topic further in another expanded article in the Met-News on June 17, 2008 (again also posted on the group's blog), the first full day same-sex marriage became legal in California. The legal education piece was entitled, "Election Law: How One Legally Might Remove a Ballot Initiative Prior to an Election." Norte pointed out that the language of the initiative was flawed and out-dated due to recent events. The legal analyst concluded that one could legitimately argue that the Court order the "California Secretary of State, to remove the proposed 'Limit on Marriage' Constitutional Amendment Initiative [Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...
] from the November, 2008 ballot."
On June 20, 2008, the pro-same-sex marriage parties file a Writ of Mandate in the California Supreme Court in San Francisco. San Francisco Chronicle reporter Bob Elko reported that the coalition filed a writ to seek removal of the initiative. The grounds stated in the writ petition were similar to those discussed in both the May 21, 2008 and June 17, 2008 articles authored by Norte, but failed to reference the official reporter pages of the case. Norte's second article contained the proper citations.
Log Cabin Republicans v. United States
A lawsuit filed by LCR in federal court challenging the "Don’t Ask, Don’t TellDon't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
" (DADT) policy, which excludes homosexuals from openly serving in the U. S. military, went to trial on July 13, 2010, presided by Judge Virginia Phillips. LCR argued that the policy violates the rights of homosexual military members to free speech, due process and open association. The government argued that DADT was necessary to advance a legitimate governmental interest. LCR introduced several admissions by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, including that DADT "doesn’t contribute to our national security," "weakens our national security," and that reversing DADT is "essential for our national security". Rather than address plaintiff's claims or bring evidence to support their own claims of national interest, the government relied exclusively on the policy's 1993 legislative history.
On September 9, 2010, Phillips ruled in favor of plaintiffs, finding that DADT violates the First
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
and Fifth
Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
Amendments to the United States Constitution.
After another year of legal wrangling, on September 29, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit is a U.S. federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts:* District of Alaska* District of Arizona...
vacated the district court's decision, ruling that the legislative repeal of "don't ask, don't tell" in December 2010 rendered the case moot
Mootness
In American law, a matter is moot if further legal proceedings with regard to it can have no effect, or events have placed it beyond the reach of the law...
. The dismissal left the lower court ruling without value as precedent
Precedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
.
Allied groups
Most socially conservative Republicans have distanced themselves from the group; however, in 2004, LCR made allies with other moderate GOP groups such as Former New JerseyNew Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Governor Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Todd Whitman
Christine Todd "Christie" Whitman is an American Republican politician and author who served as the 50th Governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001, and was the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency in the administration of President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2003. She was New...
's It's My Party Too, Ann Stone's Republicans for Choice
Republicans for Choice
Republicans for Choice, an organization based in the Washington, D.C. area is a political action committee composed of members of the United States Republican Party who support legalized abortion.-History of Republicans for Choice:Republicans for Choice was founded in 1989 by Ann Stone...
, The Republican Majority for Choice
Republican Majority for Choice
The Republican Majority for Choice is a Republican organization in the United States dedicated to preserving legal access to abortion. The group also supports federal funding for all kinds of stem cell research, including Embryonic stem cell research.....
, The Wish List
The Wish List (political organization)
The Wish List is a political action committee devoted to electing pro-choice Republican women to the House of Representatives and Senate. The Wish List was founded in 1992. The acronym "WISH" stands for Women In the Senate and House. It can be considered a counterpart to another organization:...
, Republicans for Environmental Protection, and The Republican Main Street Partnership
Republican Main Street Partnership
The Republican Main Street Partnership is a group of moderate members of the United States Republican Party. They tend away from the dominant social conservatism of many Republicans and towards a moderate fiscal conservatism and limited government to a degree. The group is the rough equivalent of...
. In the last several years, these groups united to do political combat with social conservatives to re-assert the role of centrists and traditional conservatives in the Republican party. Christine Todd Whitman spoke at the LCR convention in 2005 and appeared at an LCR event in Cincinnati in 2006.
Elected politicians
- Mike GinMike GinMichael A. Gin is mayor of Redondo Beach, California and was a Republican candidate in the special election to fill the seat in California's 36th congressional district left vacant by the resignation of Jane Harman.-Early life and education:...
, Mayor of Redondo BeachRedondo Beach, CaliforniaRedondo Beach is one of the three Beach Cities located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 66,748 at the 2010 census, up from 63,261 at the 2000 census. The city is located in the South Bay region of the greater Los Angeles area.Redondo Beach was originally part of...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
See also
- Lavender GreensLavender GreensThe National Lavender Greens Caucus is the United States Green Party's advocacy group on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer issues and is an officially accredited Identity Caucus of the Green Party...
- Outright LibertariansOutright LibertariansOutright Libertarians is an association in the United States of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and other self-identified "queer" people who are active in the Libertarian Party...
- Rockefeller RepublicanRockefeller RepublicanRockefeller Republican refers to a faction of the United States Republican Party who held moderate to liberal views similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller...
- Gay Conservatives
- GOProudGOProudGOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
- Stonewall DemocratsStonewall DemocratsThe National Stonewall Democrats is an LGBT-rights group based in Washington, D.C. with a political affiliation to the Democratic Party. The word "Stonewall" in its name refers to the 1969 Stonewall riots, a pivotal event in the history of gay rights....
- Gay Republicans (2004 film)Gay Republicans (2004 film)Gay Republicans is a 2004 documentary directed by Wash Westmoreland that focuses on four Log Cabin Republicans as they struggle with President George W. Bush's unequivocal opposition to gay marriage and are forced to make a choice: Whether to be good Republicans and support the President, or stand...
- Lincoln Lover
- Equivalent organisations from across the world holding centre right views and principles include:
- LGBToryLGBToryLGBTory is a LGBT and Conservative Group linked to, but not run, directed or funded by the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. The first LGBT Conservative group was called CGHE LGBTory is a LGBT and Conservative Group linked to, but not run, directed or funded by the Conservative Party of the...
- LGBTory