GOProud
Encyclopedia
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gay
s, lesbian
s, transgender
ed people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. 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 has subsequently co-sponsored CPAC
and have added political commentator/strategist Margaret Hoover
, Americans for Tax Reform
President Grover Norquist
, conservative media mogul
Andrew Breitbart
, new media
specialist Liz Mair and political communications consultant
Chuck Muth
.
, criminalizing targeted violence against gays and lesbians, and recognition of sexual orientation
as a protected civil rights class.
GOProud supports repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell
and the Defense of Marriage Act
, promotes broader Second Amendment
rights and opposes a Federal amendment
defining marriage. GOProud "focuses strictly on federal issues which means that, institutionally, they don't take a position on state policy issues like same sex marriage."
On May 5, 2010, Tammy Bruce was added to the GOProud Advisory Committee, raising speculation that GOProud was signaling a shift in its stance on gay marriage. GOProud Board Chairman Christopher R. Barron denied that the group was changing its position and remarked, "It doesn't change any of our positions. There are going to be times when all of us disagree. We're not the 'pod people
' here."
On October 21, 2010, GOProud became the first gay rights organization to release a campaign commercial against Democratic
candidates. The commercial, titled "The Real Democrats of Washington, D.C.", specifically targets openly gay Representative
Barney Frank
, as well as Senator
Barbara Boxer
and House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi
.
GOProud opposes federal funding of abortion
but does not take a stance on whether abortion should be legal. The organization supports the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, proposed by New Jersey
Representative
Chris Smith.
In February 2011, Bruce resigned from the GOProud Advisory Board.
(CPAC), prompting socially conservative groups such as American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
and Liberty University
to write a note to CPAC organizers protesting GOProud's inclusion in the event.
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, author of The "Born Gay" Hoax and chairman of the California Young Americans for Freedom
, followed by condemning CPAC for inviting GOProud. During Sorba's criticism, the audience began to boo. Sorba told the crowd, "the lesbian
s at Smith College
protest better than you do."
Numerous prominent conservative organizations, including the Heritage Foundation
, Family Research Council
, and American Family Association
, among others, decided to boycott the 2011 CPAC over GOProud's inclusion. Sen.
Jim DeMint
also announced he was boycotting the conference. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, stated in an interview with CBN
that, while she was not attending, she did not object to GOProud's participation, while Andrew Breitbart
endorsed their attendance, and announced that he would throw a "big 'ol gay dance party." The resultant "Big Gay Party" featured guests such as Breitbart, former Republican National Committee
Chairman Michael Steele, former U.S. Army Lieutenant Daniel Choi, Fred L. Smith
of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
, Michael C. Moynihan
of Reason magazine, and singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins
.
with conservative pundit Ann Coulter
as the keynote speaker. Before the event, GOProud Board Chairman Christopher R. Barron said:
PayPal
co-founder Peter Thiel
hosted the event. Coulter told the audience that she did not support gay marriage
and that marriage is not a civil right. Coulter also criticized sex education
in schools. Barron defended Coulter against some critics, explaining, "Homocon 2010 was a complete and total success. GOProud set out to throw a great party, not hold a policy event, and that’s exactly what we did."
On October 11, Coulter defended New York
gubernatorial candidate
Carl Paladino
's widely-perceived homophobic views in an interview with Fox News. Barron personally denounced Paladino's remarks and later accepted the candidate's subsequent apology. In a speech at the 2011 CPAC, Coulter welcomed GOProud to the event, receiving a resounding applause from the audience.
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
s, lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
s, transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
ed people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R. Barron
Christopher R. Barron
Christopher R. Barron is the cofounder of GOProud, a political organization representing gay conservatives. The president of CapSouth Consulting, a political consulting firm, Barron served as the national political director for Log Cabin Republicans, where he directed the organization’s federal...
and Jimmy LaSalvia
Jimmy LaSalvia
Jimmy LaSalvia is a co-founder and the executive director of GOProud, a U.S. political action group representing gay conservatives...
, two former Log Cabin Republican
Log Cabin Republicans
The Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
staffers who expressed dissatisfaction at that organization's generally centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
political positions. GOProud has subsequently co-sponsored CPAC
Conservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
and have added political commentator/strategist Margaret Hoover
Margaret Hoover
Margaret Claire Hoover is an American political commentator, political strategist, and blogger. She is a great-granddaughter of former President Herbert Hoover...
, Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform
Americans for Tax Reform is an advocacy group and taxpayer group whose stated goal is "a system in which taxes are simpler, flatter, more visible, and lower than they are today. The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax...
President Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist
Grover Glenn Norquist is an American lobbyist, conservative activist, and founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform...
, conservative media mogul
Media proprietor
A media proprietor is a person who controls, either through personal ownership or a dominant position in any media enterprise. Those with significant control of a public company in the mass media may also be called "media moguls", "tycoons", "barons", or "bosses".The figure of the media proprietor...
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report website...
, new media
New media
New media is a broad term in media studies that emerged in the latter part of the 20th century. For example, new media holds out a possibility of on-demand access to content any time, anywhere, on any digital device, as well as interactive user feedback, creative participation and community...
specialist Liz Mair and political communications consultant
Political consulting
Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters, refers to a specific management consulting industry which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns. This article deals primarily with the development and nature of political consulting...
Chuck Muth
Chuck Muth
Chuck Muth is President and CEO of Citizen Outreach and a professional political communications consultant.He is a former executive director of the American Conservative Union, a National Chairman of the Republican Liberty Caucus, a Clark County, Nevada GOP chairman and former Nevada Republican...
.
Organization
GOProud's mission is to represent gay conservatives and their allies, emphasizing conservative principles such as limited government, individual liberty, and national defense over what are usually considered bedrock issues of gay politics such as same-sex marriageSame-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
, criminalizing targeted violence against gays and lesbians, and recognition of sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
as a protected civil rights class.
GOProud supports repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
and the Defense of Marriage Act
Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...
, promotes broader Second Amendment
Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights that protects the right of the people to keep and bear arms. It was adopted on December 15, 1791, along with the rest of the Bill of Rights.In 2008 and 2010, the Supreme Court issued two Second...
rights and opposes a Federal amendment
Federal Marriage Amendment
The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...
defining marriage. GOProud "focuses strictly on federal issues which means that, institutionally, they don't take a position on state policy issues like same sex marriage."
On May 5, 2010, Tammy Bruce was added to the GOProud Advisory Committee, raising speculation that GOProud was signaling a shift in its stance on gay marriage. GOProud Board Chairman Christopher R. Barron denied that the group was changing its position and remarked, "It doesn't change any of our positions. There are going to be times when all of us disagree. We're not the 'pod people
Pod People
The Pod People is a 1983 Spanish science fiction film directed by Juan Piquer Simón. A young boy discovers a lovable alien creature, but the alien's mother is on the prowl...
' here."
On October 21, 2010, GOProud became the first gay rights organization to release a campaign commercial against Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
candidates. The commercial, titled "The Real Democrats of Washington, D.C.", specifically targets openly gay Representative
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
Barney Frank
Barney Frank
Barney Frank is the U.S. Representative for . A member of the Democratic Party, he is the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and is considered the most prominent gay politician in the United States.Born and raised in New Jersey, Frank graduated from Harvard College and...
, as well as Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Boxer
Barbara Levy Boxer is the junior United States Senator from California . A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives ....
and House Speaker
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
.
GOProud opposes federal funding of abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
but does not take a stance on whether abortion should be legal. The organization supports the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, proposed by New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Representative
United States Congressional Delegations from New Jersey
These are tables of congressional delegations from New Jersey to the United States Senate and United States House of Representatives. -United States Senate:-United States House of Representatives:-Sources:* *...
Chris Smith.
In February 2011, Bruce resigned from the GOProud Advisory Board.
2010 CPAC incident
In 2009, GOProud became the first gay political organization to co-sponsor the Conservative Political Action ConferenceConservative Political Action Conference
The Conservative Political Action Conference is an annual political conference attended by conservative activists and elected officials from across the United States....
(CPAC), prompting socially conservative groups such as American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property
The American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property is a civic organization of traditional Roman Catholic inspiration...
and Liberty University
Liberty University
Liberty University is a private Christian university located in Lynchburg, Virginia. Liberty's annual enrollment is around 72,000 students, 12,000 of whom are residential students and 60,000+ studying through Liberty University Online...
to write a note to CPAC organizers protesting GOProud's inclusion in the event.
During a panel at the 2010 CPAC, Alexander McCobin, co-founder and executive director of Students For Liberty
Students For Liberty
Students For Liberty seeks to support student groups that hold a wide-range of philosophical beliefs that all share an underlying dedication to liberty with resources like leadership training, literature, grants, and speakers...
, opened his remarks by thanking the American Conservative Union
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union is an American political organization advocating conservative policies, and is the oldest such conservative lobbying organization in the country.-Organization:...
for welcoming GOProud
GOProud
GOProud is an American tax exempt 527 organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies. GOProud advocates for small government conservatism at the level of federal public policy. GOProud was founded by Christopher R...
as a co-sponsor of the event. Ryan Sorba, author of The "Born Gay" Hoax and chairman of the California Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom
Young Americans for Freedom is a 501 non-profit organization and is now a project of Young America's Foundation. YAF is an ideologically conservative youth activism organization that was founded in 1960, as a coalition between traditional conservatives and libertarians...
, followed by condemning CPAC for inviting GOProud. During Sorba's criticism, the audience began to boo. Sorba told the crowd, "the lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
s at Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
protest better than you do."
Numerous prominent conservative organizations, including the Heritage Foundation
Heritage Foundation
The Heritage Foundation is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. Heritage's stated mission is to "formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong...
, Family Research Council
Family Research Council
The Family Research Council is a conservative or right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization formed in the United States in 1981 by James Dobson. It was fully incorporated in 1983...
, and American Family Association
American Family Association
The American Family Association is a 501 non-profit organization that promotes conservative Christian values, such as opposition to same-sex marriage, pornography, and abortion, as well as other public policy goals such as deregulation of the oil industry and lobbying against the Employee Free...
, among others, decided to boycott the 2011 CPAC over GOProud's inclusion. Sen.
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Jim DeMint
Jim DeMint
James Warren "Jim" DeMint is the junior U.S. Senator from South Carolina, serving since 2005. He is a member of the Republican Party and a leader in the Tea Party movement. He previously served as the U.S. Representative for from 1999 to 2005.-Early life and education:DeMint was born in...
also announced he was boycotting the conference. Sarah Palin, on the other hand, stated in an interview with CBN
Christian Broadcasting Network
The Christian Broadcasting Network, or CBN, is a fundamentalist Christian television broadcasting network in the United States. Its headquarters and main studios are in Virginia Beach, Virginia.-Background:...
that, while she was not attending, she did not object to GOProud's participation, while Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart
Andrew Breitbart is an American publisher, commentator for the Washington Times, author, an occasional guest commentator on various news programs who has served as an editor for the Drudge Report website...
endorsed their attendance, and announced that he would throw a "big 'ol gay dance party." The resultant "Big Gay Party" featured guests such as Breitbart, former Republican National Committee
Republican National Committee
The Republican National Committee is an American political committee that provides national leadership for the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy. It is...
Chairman Michael Steele, former U.S. Army Lieutenant Daniel Choi, Fred L. Smith
Fred L. Smith
Fred L. Smith, Jr. is the President and Founder of the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit libertarian think tank. He has written on topics as antitrust law, environmental regulation, and the economic impacts of global warming....
of the Competitive Enterprise Institute
Competitive Enterprise Institute
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a non-profit think tank founded on March 9, 1984 in Washington, D.C. by lobbyist Fred L. Smith, Jr to advance economic liberty and fight over-regulation by big government...
, Michael C. Moynihan
Michael C. Moynihan
Michael C. Moynihan is an American journalist and managing editor of Vice magazine. Before that he was a senior editor of the libertarian magazine Reason. Moynihan founded the English language magazine based in Stockholm, Sweden, the Stockholm Spectator. He was a resident fellow of the free-market...
of Reason magazine, and singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins
Sophie B. Hawkins
Sophie Ballantine Hawkins is an American singer, songwriter, musician and painter. Her biggest hits are "Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover", "Right Beside You", and "As I Lay Me Down".- Career :...
.
2010 Homocon
On September 25 2010, GOProud hosted their first "Homocon" fundraiser in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with conservative pundit Ann Coulter
Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events...
as the keynote speaker. Before the event, GOProud Board Chairman Christopher R. Barron said:
PayPal
PayPal
PayPal is an American-based global e-commerce business allowing payments and money transfers to be made through the Internet. Online money transfers serve as electronic alternatives to paying with traditional paper methods, such as checks and money orders....
co-founder Peter Thiel
Peter Thiel
Peter Andreas Thiel is an American business magnate, venture capitalist, and hedge fund manager. With Elon Musk and Max Levchin, Thiel co-founded PayPal and was its CEO...
hosted the event. Coulter told the audience that she did not support gay marriage
Same-sex marriage in the United States
The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...
and that marriage is not a civil right. Coulter also criticized sex education
Sex education
Sex education refers to formal programs of instruction on a wide range of issues relating to human sexuality, including human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, abstinence, contraception, and...
in schools. Barron defended Coulter against some critics, explaining, "Homocon 2010 was a complete and total success. GOProud set out to throw a great party, not hold a policy event, and that’s exactly what we did."
On October 11, Coulter defended New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
gubernatorial candidate
New York gubernatorial election, 2010
The New York gubernatorial election of 2010 was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010, to elect the Governor of New York, who will serve a four-year term to begin in January 2011. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as Lieutenant Governor in 2006 as the running mate of former Governor...
Carl Paladino
Carl Paladino
Carl Pasquale Paladino is an American businessman and political activist from Buffalo, New York. Paladino is the founder and chairman of Ellicott Development Company, a real estate development company he founded in 1973. He was the 2010 Republican nominee for the New York gubernatorial election,...
's widely-perceived homophobic views in an interview with Fox News. Barron personally denounced Paladino's remarks and later accepted the candidate's subsequent apology. In a speech at the 2011 CPAC, Coulter welcomed GOProud to the event, receiving a resounding applause from the audience.
See also
- Log Cabin RepublicansLog Cabin RepublicansThe Log Cabin Republicans is an organization that works within the Republican Party to advocate equal rights for all Americans, including gays and lesbians in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C...
- Republican Party (United States)Republican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
- Gay Republicans (2004 film)Gay Republicans (2004 film)Gay Republicans is a 2004 documentary directed by Wash Westmoreland that focuses on four Log Cabin Republicans as they struggle with President George W. Bush's unequivocal opposition to gay marriage and are forced to make a choice: Whether to be good Republicans and support the President, or stand...
- LGBToryLGBToryLGBTory is a LGBT and Conservative Group linked to, but not run, directed or funded by the Conservative Party of the United Kingdom. The first LGBT Conservative group was called CGHE LGBTory is a LGBT and Conservative Group linked to, but not run, directed or funded by the Conservative Party of the...
- GayLibGayLibGayLib is an LGBT faction affiliated with the Union for a Popular Movement, France's political party currently in power. Its president is Emmanuel Blanc.-History:...
External links
- GOProud's homepage
- GOProud on FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
(Official) (Official) - GOProud's channel at YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
(Official)