This opinion piece is from Jason Godfrey who is the president of the Tampa Bay Log Cabin Republicans.
The game has changed for LGBT Republicans.
A year ago, I had no idea what Log Cabin Republicans was or who it represented. Despite the fact that I am a gay conservative, as far as I was aware, the only nation-wide organization representing people like me was the Republican Party itself. And let’s face it … for years, the GOP wasn’t the most inclusive to LGBT conservatives.
That all changed in the 2020 election, when I got involved with the Log Cabin Republicans, which I soon learned is the nation’s largest organization representing LGBT conservatives and their allies. Since that time, I have witnessed firsthand that the Republican Party has never been more welcoming of LGBT conservatives than it is today. Countless people like me across the country are getting involved in the Party and its future.
As the president of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, I see it every day.
If you’re a gay conservative, let me reassure you that you are not alone, and that the game has changed for LGBT conservatives. President Donald Trump took unprecedented steps towards welcoming our community and including us as proud members of the Republican Party.
He was the first president in U.S. history to take the oath of office as a supporter of gay marriage as the law of the land; he openly recognized his LGBT supporters. He appointed the first openly gay man to a Cabinet-level position and launched a campaign at the U.N. to decriminalize homosexuality around the world.
Many members of our chapter credit President Trump with giving them the courage to stand up as proud Republicans despite the enormous pressure from the rest of the LGBT community to stay silent. Gay conservatives are now more vocal and more active, and have become a visible presence on the national stage.
First Lady Melania Trump emerged as a champion for LGBT conservatives as well. Her work to end bullying, an issue the LGBT community is all too familiar with, is admirable. In the final weeks of the 2020 election, she released a video thanking Log Cabin Republicans for our support and reminding us that we are welcome members of the GOP.
This kind of courage and inclusion in the face of overwhelming opposition from the media and the left has inspired many in the gay community who do not subscribe to the ideology or policies of the Democratic Party to finally get outspoken and get involved. The GOP for its part has emerged as a welcome partner. No longer are we a coalition of voters to be quietly shunned.
This new unity couldn’t come at a more critical time. The left-wing agenda of the Biden administration is shaking America to its core and jeopardizing our country’s future. It is more important than ever that we come together as conservative like-minded individuals, regardless of our sexual orientation, to elect more conservative Republicans to Congress and fight back.