Formation | April 15, 2009 |
---|---|
Dissolved | June 2, 2014 |
Type | LGBT, Republican |
Headquarters | Washington, D.C. [1] |
Region served | United States |
Founders | Christopher R. Barron Jimmy LaSalvia |
Affiliations | Metroplex Republicans Dallas Right Pride Republican Party |
Website | GOProud (archived page) |
GOProud was [2] an American tax exempt 527 organization supported by fiscally conservative gay men, lesbians, and their allies. GOProud advocated for free markets, limited government, and a respect for individual rights and worked at the federal and state levels to build strong coalitions of liberal conservative and libertarian activists, organizations and policy makers to advance their shared values and beliefs. [3]
GOProud was founded by Christopher R. Barron and Jimmy LaSalvia, two former Log Cabin Republican staffers who expressed dissatisfaction at that organization's generally centrist political positions. GOProud subsequently co-sponsored the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and added political commentator/author Ann Coulter, political commentator/strategist Margaret Hoover, Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist, [4] new media specialist Liz Mair, [5] political analyst Lisa De Pasquale, and political communications consultant Chuck Muth. [6]
In June 2014, it was reported that GOProud had ceased operations and was shutting down as a political committee. [7] After initial denials, the executive director later confirmed that they were "leaving GOProud behind" and that GOProud would be dissolved. [8]
Jimmy LaSalvia and Christopher R. Barron co-founded GOProud on April 15, 2009. LaSalvia was the Director of Programs and Policy for the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay organization identifying with Republican ideals. Barron was the Political Director at Log Cabin Republicans before both men decided to leave with hopes of a creating a better organization that dealt with more conservative values. They wanted to focus on the issues of the conservative agenda rather than social issues, the focus of Log Cabin Republicans. Barron and LaSalvia believe that same-sex marriage is a state issue and therefore wanted an organization that focused on the real conservative agenda. [9] Margaret Hoover, a member of the advisory council, added her opinion into the mix, "GOProud has helped force gays out of the conservative establishment – what I would call the 'conser-va-gentsia' – to take on these self-anointed leaders of social conservatism." [10]
The Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States invited GOProud to its 2010 conference. The Family Research Council started a boycott of CPAC over the invitation. [11] Groups that followed the FRC in boycotting included the Concerned Women for America, American Principles Project, Center for Military Readiness, National Organization for Marriage and Liberty Council. [12] These conservative groups worried that adding gay members would weaken the movement.[ citation needed ]
During a panel at the 2010 CPAC, Alexander McCobin, co-founder and executive director of Students For Liberty, opened his remarks by thanking the American Conservative Union for welcoming GOProud as a co-sponsor of the event. Ryan Sorba, chairman of the California Young Americans for Freedom and author of The "Born Gay" Hoax, attempted to derail support for GOProud at CPAC. During his speech at the convention, he condemned GOProud for entering the conference but was eventually booed by the audience. [9]
In February 2011, Trump made his first speaking appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference. His appearance at CPAC was organized by GOProud, in conjunction with GOProud supporter Roger Stone, who was close with Trump. GOProud pushed for a write-in campaign for Donald Trump at CPAC's presidential straw poll. Christopher R. Barron, co-founder of GOProud who would later not only endorse Trump's 2016 presidential campaign, but also launch LGBT for Trump, said he "would love to see Mr. Trump run for president." The speech was later credited with helping to launch his political career within the Republican Party. [13]
"Don't ask, don't tell" is a political issue and policy enacted in 1993. This policy allowed homosexuals to serve in the military as long as their sexual orientation was undisclosed. GOProud supported repealing the policy. [14] GOProud condemned Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty [15] and former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum [16] – both candidates for the Republican nomination for president in 2012 – after they favoured reinstating the policy.
Founders LaSalvia, who is also Executive Director, and Barron outed gay pollster and Perry campaign adviser Tony Fabrizio over Rick Perry's "Strong" campaign ad, citing what they viewed as homophobic themes in the ad. [17] The ensuing fallout over the outing caused the late conservative media mogul Andrew Breitbart to resign from GOProud's board. This move has also caused controversy inside the group, with many top members expressing disagreement and disgust over the outing. [18]
In July 2011, American Conservative Union's board voted to not allow GOProud to co-sponsor the 2012 CPAC event. This led to controversy among the entities who wanted GOProud to sponsor the event. [19]
GOProud was once again excluded from sponsoring CPAC in 2013, however this led to some criticism from some, such as S. E. Cupp and Chris Hayes, who boycotted attending CPAC that year over the issue.[ citation needed ]
In April 2013, the two co-founders, executive director Jimmy LaSalvia and senior strategist Chris Barron, sold the GOProud name, a computer, a contact list, and some posters to three former interns, [2] and announced plans to step back from their day-to-day roles with the group. [20]
In July 2013, the organization's Board of Directors announced that their new Leadership team consisted of Ross Hemminger, a former aide to US Senator Scott Brown; and Matthew Bechstein, a public relations consultant from California.
In January 2014, Jimmy LaSalvia left GOProud and the Republican party and became an independent. This was due to LaSalvia viewing the Republican Party as too bigoted and closed minded towards LGBT people. [21] [22]
In February, founder Chris Barron resigned from GOProud to protest what he called "an unconditional surrender to the forces of bigotry" [23] after the new leaders, Hemminger and Bechstein, accepted an offer from the organizers of CPAC to allow them to attend the conference as guests, without a booth or other formal presence for GOProud.
In June 2014, reports surfaced that the GOProud leadership had decided to dissolve the organization. [24] Executive Director Matthew Bechstein issued a denial of the report, stating that it was untrue and that the organization would continue operating as it had. But the following day he admitted that "I posted what I had to on Facebook so I wouldn't scare our members and thwart our fundraising efforts. I wanted to mitigate a disaster." [25] He then stated that GOProud did indeed plan to file dissolution papers with the government. [26]
According to its website, the top four issues concerning GOProud included "tax reform", "limited government", "freedom-focused foreign policy", and "choices in education". [27]
On January 18, 2013, GOProud officially came out in support of same-sex marriage at a state by state level. [28] Prior to that, GOProud had no official position on marriage or relationship recognition. [29] In 2011, Ann Coulter said she had convinced GOProud to take its support of same sex marriage out of its platform. [30]
While GOProud did not have an official position on abortion, [31] GOProud attended anti-abortion rallies [31] and Christopher Barron said that "I want pro-life gays to know they have a home here." [32] Jimmy LaSalvia opposes abortion and warned the gay community should be anti-abortion because of the threat of selective abortions of gay fetuses.[ citation needed ]
GOProud had no official position on the Employment Nondiscrimination Act [33] or the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. [34] In 2009, GOProud supported the inclusion of the Thune-Vitter Concealed Carry Reciprocity Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010. [35]
Gabriel E. Gomez was a director of GOProud. [36]
Ann Coulter was a member of the advisory council beginning on August 9, 2011. [37]
GOProud had affiliates in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. [38] The Metroplex Republicans Dallas [39] and Right Pride (Nevada affiliate) [40] were affiliated with GOProud.
Ann Hart Coulter is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of the Clinton administration. Her first book concerned the impeachment of Bill Clinton and sprang from her experience writing legal briefs for Paula Jones's attorneys, as well as columns she wrote about the cases. Coulter's syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate appears in newspapers and is featured on conservative websites. Coulter has also written 13 books.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGBTQ individuals, including advocating for same-sex marriage, anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and HIV/AIDS advocacy. The organization has a number of legislative initiatives as well as supporting resources for LGBTQ individuals.
The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization affiliated with the Republican Party which advocates for equal rights for LGBT+ Americans, by educating the LGBT+ community and Republicans about each other.
Kenneth Brian Mehlman is an American social entrepreneur and businessman. He serves as a member, global head of public affairs, and co-head of KKR global impact at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. He oversees the firm's responsible investment efforts, leading the firm's Environmental Social Governance programs. Prior to joining KKR, Mehlman spent a year as an attorney and partner at law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. In January 2017, Mehlman announced that he would act as chairman of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Policy Advisory Board.
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States. CPAC is hosted by the American Conservative Union (ACU). The first CPAC took place in 1974.
The Council for National Policy (CNP) is an umbrella organization and networking group for conservative and Republican activists in the United States. It was launched in 1981 during the Reagan administration by Tim LaHaye and the Christian right, to "bring more focus and force to conservative advocacy". The membership list for September 2020 was later leaked, showing that members included prominent Republicans and conservatives, wealthy entrepreneurs, and media proprietors, together with anti-abortion and anti-Islamic extremists. Members are instructed not to reveal their membership or even name the group.
Margaret Claire Hoover is an American conservative political commentator, political strategist, media personality, author, and great-granddaughter of Herbert Hoover, the 31st U.S. president. She is author of the book American Individualism: How A New Generation of Conservatives Can Save the Republican Party, published by Crown Forum in 2011. Hoover hosts PBS's reboot of the conservative interview show Firing Line.
Sarah Elizabeth Cupp is an American television host, political commentator, and writer. In August 2017, she began hosting S.E. Cupp: Unfiltered, a political panel show, co-hosted by Andrew Levy, on HLN and later CNN.
The Values Voter Summit is an annual political conference held in Washington, D.C. for American social conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States.
The Center for Military Readiness is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization founded by Elaine Donnelly, which opposes the service of gay and transgender people and favors limiting the positions open to women in the United States military. It has been described as a right-wing organisation by the SPLC and other sources.
LGBT conservatism refers to LGBT individuals with conservative political views. It is an umbrella term used for what is bifurcated into two specific sub-categories, each with its own term and meaning. The first sub-categorical term, Pre-Stonewall LGBT Conservatism, refers to LGBT individuals embracing and promoting the ideology of a traditional conservatism in either a general or specifically-LGBT social context or environment. The second sub-categorical term, Post-Stonewall LGBT Conservatism, refers to self-affirming LGBT persons with fiscally, culturally, and politically conservative views. These post-Stonewall conservatives' social views, though generally conservative too, at the same time reflect a self-determination-stemmed and more recent socio-historical "gay-affirmation" on issues like marriage equality for same-sex couples, gay family recognition, civic equality generally for LGBT people in society, and also a positive role for (gay-affirming) religion in LGBT life, though there is not complete unanimity of opinion among them on all issues, especially those regarding the dynamics and politics of the closet and "identity management," and various legal and political issues The first term can include LGBT people who are opposed to same-sex marriage or other LGBTQ rights while the second term, contrastingly, usually refers to self-affirming gay people who unequivocally favor marriage as a legal institution for both heterosexuals and gays and who simultaneously prefer economic and political conservatism more generally. The number of self-affirming LGBT advocates for conservative ideas and policies became more apparent only after the advent of the modern LGBT civil rights movement in the 1970s even as many gay conservatives, labelled as "self-hating" at the time, did remain closeted in areas where anti-gay socially conservative politicians then led the most organized opposition to LGBT rights. The Realpolitik and ideology situations for LGBT conservatives today vary by their own self-definition, and each country's sociopolitical, cultural, and legal LGBT rights landscape.
Jimmy LaSalvia is an American political figure. LaSalvia is the co-founder and former executive director of GOProud, a defunct U.S. political action group. He has also done work for the American Civil Liberties Union.
CatholicVote.org is a conservative, non-profit political advocacy group based in the United States. While the organization acknowledges the authority of the Magisterium, it is independent of the Catholic Church.
Christopher R. Barron is an American political activist best known as the cofounder of GOProud, a political organization representing gay conservatives. He is the president of CapSouth Consulting, a political consulting firm, and previously the organizer of LGBT for Trump and the national political director for Log Cabin Republicans, where he directed the organization's federal lobbying efforts and media relations.
The Faith and Freedom Coalition is a conservative political advocacy 501(c)(4) non-profit organization in the United States.
The American Principles Project (APP) is a socially conservative 501(c)(4) think tank founded in 2009 by Robert P. George, Jeff Bell, and Francis P. Cannon. It is chaired by Sean Fieler. It is led by Terry Schilling, the son of the late former U.S. Representative Bobby Schilling. It has opposed Common Core standards and advocated for monetary reform by suggesting a return to the gold standard. The organization has an affiliated super PAC, the American Principles Project PAC, which spent nearly $4 million during the 2020 election cycle.
LGBTQ+ conservatism in the United States is a social and political ideology within the LGBTQ+ community that largely aligns with the American conservative movement. LGBTQ+ conservatism is generally more moderate on social issues than social conservatism, instead emphasizing values associated with fiscal conservatism, libertarian conservatism, and neoconservatism.
The United States presidential candidates in the 2016 United States presidential candidates by political affiliation hold a wide variety of stances on issues related to domestic and foreign policy and their political ideological views.
Gays for Trump is an American LGBT organization that supports the former U.S. president Donald Trump and his administration. Peter Boykin is the founder and serves as president of the organization.
{{cite web}}
: |author=
has generic name (help)