Gay republicans come out of the closet: October 29, 1996. (From the Advocate Archives).Media attention on gay Republicans peaked during the 1996 election--especially when the Log Cabin Republicans The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is a federated gay and lesbian political organization in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C. The group consists of gays and lesbians who are supporters of the Republican Party. endorsed Bob Dole, whose presidential campaign rejected a $1,000 contribution from the group. And as Advocate reporter J. Jennings Moss reported in October, that year also turned out to "be a big one for GOP coming-out stories." Three Arizona Republicans, including U.S. representative Jim Kolbe James Thomas "Jim" Kolbe (born May 28 1942) is a former Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1985 to 2007. , state senate candidate Steve May, and Tempe mayor Neil Giuliano Neil G. Giuliano is an American politician and activist. Giuliano was the former four-term Republican mayor (1994-2004) of Tempe, Arizona. He chaired the commission in charge of hosting the third debate of the 2004 United States presidential elections. , announced that they are gay. Still, it was obvious that not every member of the GOP was ready for this new openness. The ideological tension was obvious at the party's national convention in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. . "Speaker after speaker ... talked about Republicans as an inclusive party, yet their platform continued to oppose gay rights in strong terms," Moss reported. Log Cabin log cabin or log house, style of home typical of the American pioneer on the Western frontier of the United States in the great westward expansion after 1765. It was constructed with few tools, usually an axe or an adz and an auger. member Stephen Fong, who spoke at the convention without saying he was gay, told Moss about his commitment to the party. "There's a future battle ahead," he said. "I believe this party will either die in the next decade or it will adapt with the times. We can't tolerate this forever." |
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