Press Release - June 20th, 2012

For Immediate Release

View Online: http://lgbtde.ms/NQa5Lj

June 20, 2012
Contact: Jerame Davis
202-625-1382
jdavis@stonewalldemocrats.org

Gay Conservative Group Endorses Mitt Romney Despite His Anti-LGBT Record; Prove They Don't Represent LGBT Americans

Today, a gay conservative organization, GOProud, announced their enthusiastic endorsement of Mitt Romney for President. National Stonewall Democrats strongly denounces this endorsement and calls upon GOProud and all gay conservatives to repudiate the anti-LGBT positions held by Mitt Romney. Any organization that purports to represent any portion of the LGBT community should not provide cover for the regressive anti-LGBT positions of Republican candidates.

"It takes a lot of chutzpah - and not a small amount of delusion - for a gay organization to find room to endorse a staunchly anti-LGBT candidate like Mitt Romney," said National Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Jerame Davis. "Not only has he gone on record repeatedly stating his anti-LGBT positions, he's put his bigotry in writing. Last year, Romney signed the National Organization for Marriage's anti-LGBT pledge that, among other things, calls for a federal constitutional amendment banning marriage equality in addition to McCarthy-style investigations of the LGBT community.

"That alone should be enough to deny any candidate an endorsement," continued Davis. "Apparently GOProud is more interested in toadying up to the GOP establishment and making excuses for their bigoted behavior than they are in pushing that party forward on LGBT equality. It's sad, really, when you think about it: there are two gay conservative organizations on the national scene and neither seems willing to stand up to the anti-LGBT hatred in the Republican Party. 

"Gay conservatives deserve better representation and should demand a retraction of this endorsement and demand that the organizations that represent them never compromise their integrity for partisan politics." 

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National Stonewall Democrats is the national voice of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied Democrats, with more than 80 local affiliates across the nation. Stonewall Democrats works to elect more pro-equality Democrats regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity - and to improve the Democratic Party on issues important to LGBT Democrats.