Working For Lgbt Americans
In 2019, Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced that pharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc., would donate pre-exposure prophylaxis medication for uninsured, high-risk HIV individuals.
As part of the presidents Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for America initiative, this medication, which could run up to as much as $20,000 per patient, per year, would be distributed to up to 200,000 individuals each year through at least Dec. 31, 2025.
The Trump plan is focused on communities most in need and has received support from those who have been involved in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
In similar fashion, Trump announced during Pride Month in 2019 that his administration was launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality. His leadership on this issue couldnt be more necessary even in 2020, 72 countries still identify same-sexual orientation as criminal, including eight where it is punishable by death.
This campaign was spearheaded by former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, an openly gay member of the administration who subsequently served as acting director of U.S. national intelligence, becoming the first openly gay Cabinet member in our history. In coordination with the United Nations, the European Union and other human rights organizations, the campaigns goal is to pressure nations into ending homophobic laws, securing the safety and freedom of all LGBT individuals throughout the world.
Chair Of Texas Log Cabin Republicans Group Resigns After State Gop Adopts New Platform
The acting chair of the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas resigned Thursday just days after the new proposed Texas GOP platform defined homosexuality as an abnormal lifestyle choice.
In his resignation letter shared via the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas social media page, Michael Cargill said that it was with great concern that he leaves the board.
He added that David Garza, the LCRs Texas secretary and vice president of LCR Austin, along with Mimi Planas, the president of LCR San Antonio, will also resigning from the Texas board.
Cargill cited a path of divisiveness and lack of respect, as well as bully tactics, lack of cohesion and unwillingness to work with all chapter and state LCR leaders in the organization.
He added that he sees DC and California LCR members inexplicably interceding in Texas affairs and trying to bully the Texas GOP.
According to Cargill, he will continue to be president of LCR Austin, where he says the organization has a great working relationship with the GOP leadership at the Texas Capitol.
The Log Cabin Republicans of Texas describes the organization as a group of LGBT Republicans and their straight allies who have chosen to transform the GOP from the inside, working to overcome the forces of exclusion and intolerance.
Log Cabin Republicans: Gop Platform The ‘most Anti
“This isn’t my GOP,” the president of the Log Cabin Republicans said.
& #151 — The country’s largest organization representing LGBT conservatives has slammed the GOP for its draft platform, which remains opposed to same-sex marriage and bathroom choice for transgender people.
“Theres no way to sugarcoat this: Im mad as h— and I know you are too,” Gregory T. Angelo, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans, wrote in a fundraising email sent Tuesday evening. “Moments ago, the Republican Party passed the most anti-LGBT platform in the partys 162-year history.”
He continued, “Opposition to marriage equality, nonsense about bathrooms, an endorsement of the debunked psychological practice of ‘pray the gay away’ it’s all in there.”
The GOP’s current draft platform prepared befor the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, kicking off July 18 defines marriage“as the union of one man and one woman” and calls for a reversal of the 2015 Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide.
Republicans who gathered Monday to shape their party platform refused to reverse their opposition to bathroom choice for transgender people.
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Sarah Longwell: Donald Trump Is Not A Republican Or A Conservative
Longwell insisted that she still holds traditional Republican beliefs, including restraint from the executive branch fiscal responsibility and American leadership in the world where we treat our allies with respect.
The problem with Trump isnt a gay issue, she said rather, its an American issue.
I think Donald Trump is an existential threat to democracy and the country, because the rules dont apply to him, said Longwell, 40. He thinks hes above the law.
She blames the president for disregarding the Constitution, cozying up to dictators and putting his own interests first, and said she is frustrated that the GOP has stood by him.
Republicans should be a party that cares about principles and ideas, not its loyalty to one man, she said.
She said shell be voting for Biden, whom she calls a centrist. He has a message of unity, not division.
Other LGBTQ Republicans, like Williams, straddle the line. Asked whether shell be voting for Trump, she tactfully replied, The jury is still out.
Since New Jersey is not in play, Ive been trying to focus on more of our down-ballot candidates whove sought my support and my counsel on reaching voters, she said.
Log Cabin Backs Mccain
No disrespect, Log Cabin Republicans, but have you lost your collective mind?
Just this morning the blogs began talking about the GOPs platform, which takes no uncertain stand against gay right, and now youve gone and endorsed John McCain.
And, whats more, President Patrick Sammon declared, On the most important issue that LGBT Americans faced in the last decade the federal marriage amendment Sen. John McCain stood with us. Now we stand with him. Um, Cabinites, McCain didnt stand by you because he likes the gays. Its because he likes federalism! Cmon!
Plus, marriage is hardly the most important issue. Its spectacularly eye-catching, yes, but what about hate crimes legislation, employment discrimination legislation, and adoption legislation? Are we living on the same planet?
Sammon goes on to say that he expects McCain will get a lot of gay votes. With 68% of polled gay voters loving up on Obama? Not likely
Weve included the press release after the jump.
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Texas Gop Convention Sparks Intraparty Feud On Treatment Of Gay Republicans
The Texas GOP denied the Log Cabin Republicans, which is an organization that represents LGBTQ Republicans, earlier this month from having a booth at their state convention, sparking a debate online about the treatment of gay conservatives.
The state GOP, which includes anti-LGBTQ language in their official party platform, voted 4-3 against allowing the Log Cabin Republicans from setting up their booth, according to the Dallas Voice. The vote comes during Pride Month, with some members of the LGBTQ community sounding the alarm about a rise in homophobia and transphobia.
The Log Cabin Republicans pushed back against the decision, writing in a statement that the party needs to “expand the tent” to include members of the LGBTQ community or face electoral losses.
“President Trump, who historically expanded the GOP’s coalition, made clear that LGBT conservatives are welcome in the America First movement and the Republican Party,” the organization wrote. “It’s shameful that the Texas GOP leadership is choosing not to follow his lead.”
Some Republicans also condemned the decision. Donald Trump Jr. accused the Texas Republican Party of “cancelling” gay Republicans by excluding them from the convention.
“Hey@MattRinaldiTX. You should spend less time kicking Log Cabin Republicans out of the TX GOP convention and more time focusing on kicking John Cornyn out of the party for promoting this garbage,” he tweeted.
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Log Cabin Republicans Liken Mar
Mondays FBI raid on Donald Trumps Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has many Republicans, including Trump himself, screaming political persecution and the Log Cabin Republicans organization has joined the chorus by likening it to the police raids on the Stonewall Inn.
Just as the patrons of Stonewall were not intimidated by police, we will not be intimidated by the weaponization of the FBI and against President Trump or his home, Log Cabin tweeted Monday evening. The group also noted it will be holding its gala there at Mar-a-Lago year.
There are so many things obviously wrong with that comparison. The patrons of Stonewall, whose 1969 rebellion against raids launched the modern LGBTQ+ rights movement, were members of a marginalized group indeed, the most marginalized members of that group, drag queens and transgender people, many of them people of color. Any laws they were breaking were unjust laws.
Trump is a man of great wealth, or so hed have us believe, and power. Hes no longer president, but he remains the de facto leader of the Republican Party. And the FBI is trying to find out if Trump removed classified documents from government possession and took them into private hands, which is a federal crime and most reasonable people would say it should be a federal crime.
Log Cabin is getting lambasted too.
Follow More Advocate News on Pride Today Below
Nbc Outover 500 Lgbtq Candidates To Appear On November Ballots Shattering Records
Williams, chair of the Republican Committee in Trenton, New Jersey, agrees that some LGBTQ Republicans choose to look past certain statements or policies especially cisgender members.
LGBTQ people who are voting for the president are most likely not going to be transgender, because weve been the target and the butt of most of the administrations actions, she said.
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Log Cabin Republicans V United States
A lawsuit filed by LCR in federal court challenging the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, which excluded 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.
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” by President Barack Obama and the outgoing Democratic congressional majority in December 2010 rendered the case moot. The dismissal left the lower court ruling without value as precedent.
Gay Republican Group Says Being Excluded From Texas Gop Convention Is ‘not Just Narrow
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The Log Cabin Republicans of Fort Worth said they were not allowed a booth at the Texas Republican Party Convention.
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The group is part of a national organization that represents LGBTQ conservatives.
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The national Log Cabin Republicans called the move by the Texas GOP “narrow-minded” and “politically short-sighted.”
A group of Texas Republicans who represent conservatives in the LGBTQ community said they were denied the ability to set up a booth at the Texas Republican Party Convention.
The Log Cabin Republicans of Fort Worth, a chapter of the national Log Cabin Republicans organization, said they were not allowed to set up a booth at the convention, which took place in Houston over the weekend and featured several Republican organizations and vendors, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
The move prompted a comment from the national Log Cabin Republicans, whose president called the decision “narrow-minded.”
“It’s clear that inclusion wins, which makes the Texas Republican Party leadership’s decision to exclude the Texas Log Cabin Republicans from their convention not just narrow-minded, but politically short-sighted,” President Charles Moran said in a statement, citing former President Donald Trump’s support of LGBTQ Republicans.
The Texas GOP also discussed policy proposals that would push the party further to the right, including voting on a platform declaring homosexuality “an abnormal lifestyle choice,” The Texas Tribune reported.
Log Cabin Republicans
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Nbc Outtrump Applauds Poll Showing 45 Percent Support Among Gay Men
Kazmierczak called Trump a staunch supporter of gay people and their rights, but he said he makes a distinction when it comes to religious groups.
He doesnt want gay rights forced on religious institutions, Kazmierczak said. It doesnt mean that he doesnt support gay people. It means that to him, religious freedom is more important than social issues.
Trump made a halfhearted effort to court the LGBTQ community in the run-up to the 2016 presidential election. He called the massacre of 49 mostly LGBTQ people at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that year an assault on the ability of free people to live their lives, love who they want and express their identity.
At the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Trump swore to protect our LGBTQ citizens from the violence and oppression of a hateful foreign ideology.
And two days before Election Day, he grabbed an upside-down Pride flag inscribed with LGBT for Trump at a rally in Colorado and waved it around.
Once in office, however, Trump has consistently opposed LGBTQ rights from rolling back Obama-era nondiscrimination protections to banning openly transgender service members in the military. The national LGBTQ rights group GLAAD has accused the Trump administration of 181 separate attacks on the community since his inauguration.
For Rogers, Trumps bona fides with the community arent so important.
Many gay Trump supporters say theyre tired of being told what political views are acceptable.
Log Cabin Republicans Board Votes Against Endorsing Trump
The group narrowly voted on Tuesday to withhold an endorsement of Donald Trump, according to Gregory Angelo, the organizations president. | Getty
10/22/2016 01:05 PM EDT
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Link Copied
The board of the nations largest group of LGBT Republicans has voted to not endorse Donald Trump, in a contentious decision that did not reflect the preference of many of its chapters.
While the Log Cabin Republicans are united against Hillary Clinton, the groups 14-member national board narrowly voted on Tuesday to withhold an endorsement of the Republican nominee, according to Gregory T. Angelo, the organizations president.
Its the second time the official national group has chosen not to back the GOP nominee the prior time was 2004 for George W. Bush. The move reflects struggles throughout the Republican coalition, though for LGBT conservatives its been particularly wrenching. Trumps rhetoric, they say, has been more pro-gay than any presidential nominee in history.
Withholding an endorsement is not the same thing as opposing someones nomination, Angelo said in an interview. There were members of our national board of directors who had very passionate feelings in favor of both.
Angelo who is not a voting member of the board said that state Log Cabin chapters were surveyed as part of the endorsement process for recommendations, and a majority supported endorsing Trump.
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Surprise Surprise: Gay Republicans Really Are Self
Get ready for the shocker of the century. Gay Republicans in 2020 have a few issues to sort through.
A new Williams Institute study found that right-wing gays are more likely to wish they were straight. Perhaps its because they choose to support a system that actively seeks to oppress them just a thought.
The UCLA-based institute combed through data from the Generations Study, which sampled LGB folks and found that Republicans are more than twice as likely as Democrats to wish deep down that they were completely heterosexual. And theyre just as likely to interpret their sexual orientation as a personal shortcoming.
Related: Log Cabin Republicans shunned by their own party, cant even get a booth at upcoming convention
There is a common belief that LGBT identity and Republican affiliation are incompatible, Ilan H. Meyer, Distinguished Senior Scholar of Public Policy at the Williams Institute and lead author of the study, said via a statement. Although they represent a small minority, some LGB people are affiliated as Republicans. However, it is striking to find how much they differ from sexual minority Democrats in terms of their connections with LGBT communities.
Among the studys participants, researchers say 41% of LGB Republicans wished they could be straight, while only 17% of LGB Democrats felt similarly. 38% of GOP LGB also said they see their sexuality as a character flaw, with 16% of LGB Democrats saying the same.
Silicon Valley Log Cabin Republicans
The Silicon Valley Log Cabin Republicans was formed in 1990 with Mark Patrosso as the founding President. The Silicon Valley became formally recognized Republican volunteer organization by the Santa Clara County Republican Party in January 1992. In the 1990s and 2000s anywhere between 4 to 8 members were voting members of the Santa Clara County Republican Central Committee. At the same time, there were as many as 5 chapter members that were voting delegates to the CA Republican Party conventions.
Since 1990, Log Cabin members have been Republican Party nominees for the US House of Representatives, State Senate, and State Assembly.
In 1996 Mark Patrosso was the first openly gay Delegate selected in March, to the Republican National Convention in August of that year. Later that summer two other openly gay Log Cabin members, from New York, were selected as well.
Over the years the Silicon Valley Chapter has participated in Pride events, the Billy DeFrank Center board and the SV Rainbow Chamber of Commerce. The Silicon Valley Chapter remains active in 2020 with Shane Patrick Connolly serving as Chapter President and the Chair of the Santa Clara County Republican Party.
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