(Tampa) - Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry
co-hosted a brunch with Log Cabin Republicans today at the Republican
National Convention in Tampa, FL. Conservative commentator and
political strategist Margaret Hoover spoke at the event, and notable
attendees included former Congressman Jim Kolbe, Maryland State Senator
Allan Kittleman, and Andrew Langer, president of the Institute for
Liberty, who also spoke at the event.
"There
are tectonic shifts happening just beneath the surface within the
Republican Party on marriage that are starting to percolate up to the
national dialogue," said Hoover, also a member of the Young
Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry leadership committee.
"That's why we're here at the Republican National Convention - to
continue to drive this very important conversation forward. Our group
can help people see that supporting marriage for same-sex couples is
absolutely consistent with the party's legacy of individual freedom and
limited government. It is a profoundly conservative value."
"The
goal of Log Cabin Republicans has always been to work from within the
party to expand and protect freedoms for all Americans. The presence of
a successful, widely-attended event in support of the freedom to marry
at the 2012 Republican National Convention is a watershed moment for
the cause of marriage equality," said R. Clarke Cooper, Executive
Director of the Log Cabin Republicans. "Today's event included GOP
delegates, elected officials, and committed grassroots Republicans all
united around the core idea that freedom means freedom for everyone.
We're proud to have been a part of this important event, and look
forward to continuing the conversation within the GOP alongside the
Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry."
In
addition to Hoover, two other members of the Young Conservatives
leadership committee spoke at the event: Sarah Longwell, vice president
at Berman and Company and member of the Log Cabin Republicans Board of
Directors, and Torrey Shearer, a public affairs advisor at Holland
& Knight.
In addition to the brunch, Log Cabin and the Young Conservatives
ran
a full-page ad
in today's Tampa Tribune, asking for the GOP to include gay and lesbian
families in its vision for the critical role of marriage and families
in our society. The Young Conservative leaders
sent a letter
to the Platform Committee earlier this month asking it to resist adding
language opposing the freedom of same-sex couples to marry, and Log
Cabin Republicans members and staff were active in the platform
committee process.
Despite these efforts and debates in committee, the GOP chose instead
to take an
extreme stance on marriage
in its platform, supporting a federal constitutional amendment banning
the freedom to marry for same-sex couples. The platform language on
marriage was written by Tony Perkins, the president of the anti-gay
Family Research Council.
Nationally,
several polls show that younger conservatives are increasingly for
marriage, and 197 Republican state legislators across the nation have
stood up for the freedom to marry to date.