Southern Voice (Atlanta, GA) - August 27, 2004 Gay delegates conflicted over marriage amendment By CYD ZEIGLER JR.
NEW YORK - There will be approximately 50 openly gay delegates and alternates among the 4,853 attending the 2004 Republican National Convention in New York City, according to Chris Barron, political director of the Log Cabin Republicans gay partisan group.
But the GOP convention committee has been quiet about the gay contingent, guessed by some to be the largest ever, and more vocal about the racial and ethnic diversity of its other delegates. The committee released a diversity report that claims, "We will welcome the most diverse group of delegates in party history." But the report doesn't mention gay people or issues. The Democrats, conversely, loudly trumpeted their 250 gay delegates in Boston. "I'm pleased to see the increase in diversity because it's important," said Carl Schmid, a gay delegate from Washington, D.C. "But there is additional diversity that should be recognized and I'm disappointed they haven't done that."
Schmid has been active with the Log Cabin Republicans for about 15 years. He was an organizer of the much-heralded meeting during the 2000 campaign in Austin between George W. Bush and gay Republicans - since called "the Austin 12."
Like many of the gay delegates, Schmid said he has faced personal attacks from other gays who question his allegiance with the more socially conservative Republican Party and a president who has actively supported the Federal Marriage Amendment. Schmid said he is looking forward to more moderate voices being heard from the podium in Madison Square Garden.
"The right wing of the party gets a lot of attention, but there are all kinds of Republicans," Schmid said, highlighting primetime speakers Arnold Schwarzenegger and New York Governor George Pataki. Another of the gay Republican delegates making the trek to New York City will be Pat Killen from Albuquerque. Killen started New Mexico's first chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans last February, just days before President Bush announced his support for the Federal Marriage Amendment.
At least one elected delegate won't be making the trip to New York City. Jesse Walters, of Philadelphia, resigned Aug. 18, as a delegate, saying he could no longer cast a vote for Bush.
"It has been weighing on me for months," Walters said. "I can't support him." While some gay Republicans are rejecting Bush due to his support of the Federal Marriage Amendment, the reason for Walters' resignation had more to do with the president's record of high spending, he said.
"I think he's a train wreck," Walters said. "Apart from the tax cut and cleaning up the mess in Afghanistan, I can't think of anything I agree with him on."