After being tipped off by a recentĀ Washington Blade article about GOP LGBT groupsā attempts to influence the Republican Party platform at theĀ 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins says those groups should expect a fight.
In a recentĀ āWashington Update,ā Perkins warns that āactivists are already plotting to overthrow the Republicansā pro-life, pro-family platform. ⦠Homosexual groups like GOProud and the Log Cabin Republicans are hoping to elbow their way into the conversation, but theyāll meet strong resistance from the solid conservatives that have historically dominated the platform process.ā
Gay GOP groupsā strategy, as reported by the Blade, is to try to make the partyās 2012 party platform more LGBT-friendly thanĀ 2008ā²s, which denounced same-sex marriage as well as statues against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in areas such as employment and adoption.
āLog Cabin Republicans plan to actively participate in the process to revise the partyās platform,āĀ Log Cabin Deputy Executive Director Christian Berle told the Blade. āWe recognize there will be a lot of work to be done to strengthen the importance of reaching out to LGBT Americans as a part of strengthening the party.ā
Despite Perkinsā insistence that such efforts should be tamped down, he disputes the idea that there is a gay constituency in the Republican Party, stating, āAlthough Gov. Jon Huntsman is the only candidate with a pro-gay agenda, [GOProud board chair Christopher] Barron says heās āconfidentā that this almost non-existent constituency is āgoing to have a nominee that gay conservatives can work with.āā (Perkins ignores the fact that openly gay Republican candidate Fred Karger is still in the race and has beenĀ fighting for recognition from his own party.)
Last month, GOProud wasĀ uninvited to next yearāsĀ Conservative Political Action Conference āfor pushing this same divisive agenda,ā according to Perkins. However, as a boost to their credibility within the Republican Party, GOProudĀ recently acquired conservative commentator Ann Coulter as the new āhonorary chairā of its advisory council.
Perkinsā major concerns with Log Cabin Republicans and GOProud appears to stem from a concern that the Republican Party might bend a little on LGBT issues, but itās the 2012 Democratic Party platform (which he says is also āunder attackā by LGBT lobby groups) he fears more:
Homosexuals are already leaning on Democrats to step up their support for the LGBT cause when the Left convenes in Charlotte more than 13 months from now. In 2008, delegates made it clear that this is not your grandparentsā Democratic party. For the first time in history, the Leftās planks called for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the militaryās āDonāt Ask, Donāt Tellā policy. Now, homosexuals want more. They want āmarriage.ā
But the Research Councilās lobbying arm,Ā FRC Action, and new Super Political Action Committee,Ā Faith Family Freedom Fund, are prepared to push back on LGBT agendas from both parties.
āAs always, the FRC Action team will be on hand in Florida, fighting for the values and priorities of Americaās families,ā Perkins says. āWeāll make sure the conservative base has a solid platform to stand on.ā