Gay Conservative Group, GOProud Announces Support for Romney
Although presidential candidate Mitt Romney doesn't support marriage equality, the gay conservative group GOProud recently announced that they will "enthusiastically" endorse Romney, ABC News reported.
"We think that jobs, the economy, healthcare, retirement security and taxes are all 'gay issues,' and on every single one of those issues, Mitt Romney is light years better than President Obama," GOProud's executive director Jimmy LaSalvia said in a statement. He added that Romney "knows how free marks works" while Obama "is openly hostile to free market capitalism."
Even the group agrees with Romney's economic views LaSalvia says GOProud is "strongly" against the Republican's support for traditional marriage. Two GOProud board members voted against the Romney support and the organization's co-founder Christopher Barron said he will go on to support Gov. Gary Johnson who is a Libertarian running for president.
GOProud's support for the former governor of Massachusetts upset some LGBT activists, including Dan Savage, who went on a Twitter rampage and said the endorsement is "pathetic" and "ridiculous."
"The GOP's house faggots grab their ankles, right on cue... Pathetic," Savage tweeted. The sex columnist went on to say that the GOProud was "insulting to the intelligence of gay people everywhere" for an LGBT group to support Romney.
Savage adds that LGBT equality is an issue that impacts not only social issues but economic issues as well.
"Gay people like to have jobs too," Savage told ABC News. "But Romney's policies will make sure that if you are gay you can get fired from the job that you have."
LaSalvia recently appeared on the Internet news show "Young Turks" and debated with the show's host Cenk Uygor.
Uygor said that Romney would set the gay community's cause back and Romney's team hates gays but LaSalvia argued that the politician "has a long record with dealing with gay people" and that Romney believes gays "are part of America."
It was recently reported that Romney's administration blocked an anti-bullying guide in Massachusetts while he was governor of the state. Romney officials objected to the guide because it used two LGBT words: "bisexual" and "transgender."
At the time, Romney's aides said that they blocked the guide's publication because it was too long and they needed more time to review it but the Boston Globe discovered an email that indicated Romney's people really objected to the terms.
Watch the "Young Turks" clip below: