Burnt Orange Report

Log Cabin Denied Booth at Texas GOP Convention - Again

By Byron LaMasters

No surprise, here, just further evidence that gays and lesbians are not welcome in the Texas Republican Party. The Dallas Morning News reports:

The Texas Log Cabin Republicans have long complained about intolerance from their fellow party members.

Andy Hendricks, the group's Texas president, said Log Cabin has again this year been barred from having a table or booth at the convention.

Although 24 convention delegates are Log Cabin members, he said, many other gay Texas Republicans have chosen to remain silent about their sexuality and related issues.

The Republicans way of dealing with groups who oppose parts of their platform is just uncommonly silly. We have a "Democrats for Life" caucus at our State Democratic conventions. While most of the delegates, and our platform support a woman's right to choose, we welcome anyone to the Democratic Party that shares most of our values and wants to help get Democrats elected. What are the Republicans so scared of? That if they allow Log Cabin to have a table, that they will start converting their children into the gay cult?

I don't get it. Neither do the Republicans, as they readily admit:

"I don't understand them," Houston delegate and platform committee member Norman Adams said of the Log Cabin activists. "They are probably attracted to the party because of our stand against increased taxes and other issues. But we believe that marriage should be between a natural man and a natural woman."

The platform is a largely symbolic collection of principles that sparks disagreement even within the GOP. In the past, elected officials have distanced themselves from positions such as withdrawing from the United Nations, taking back the Panama Canal and returning to the gold standard.

I've speculated in the past few days over what new we can expect from this year's Texas GOP Platform. The addition this year will likely be calling for felony charges for those who perform gay marriages:

As Log Cabin Republicans made their pitch, a party committee recommended that the state make it a felony for a government official in Texas to license or perform a same-sex marriage.

The party's Permanent Platform Committee, then the full convention, will consider that and other recommendations.

Where's the compassion?

This isn't the only flap this year between gays and the Republican Party. A gay Republican city councilman in Washington D.C. was stripped of his delegate credentials after he was critical of George Bush for proposing the FMA (Hate Amendment) - nevermind that the guy raised $50,000 for Bush (although Boi From Troy has a good point that delegates who say they oppose the candidate for which they are a delegate ought to be stripped of their credentials. I certainly would think that it would be appropriate to strip of Kerry delegate of their credentials if they openly said that they did not support John Kerry for President).

Back to Log Cabin, a gay Republican friend of mine in North Carolina was also displeased when the North Carolina Republican Party refused to allow a Log Cabin booth at their convention. Adam writes:

The North Carolina Republican Party Convention has banned the Log Cabin Republicans from setting up a table at the convention. Ed Farthing, Executive Director of Equality NC and a lifelong GOP'er, paid the fee for the table several weeks ago. At the time, no one had a problem with the LCR setting up a display booth. Three days from the convention, the NC GOP decided to kick the LCR out.

When the GOP cannot even admit some of its own members to its own convention...to have their own display booth...we have problems in our party. I was planning on attending the convention this weekend, but I will not go. I am ashamed the party has behaved this way.

I used to try to convince gay Republicans that they were idiots for supporting a party that hates them. I don't bother anymore. I just pity them.

Posted by Byron LaMasters at June 4, 2004 12:35 PM | TrackBack