Gay GOP group GOProud will return to
next month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) after a
two-year absence.
Social conservatives angry over
GOProud's inclusion boycotted the event in 2011.
Several Republican lawmakers, including
South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint and Ohio Representative Jim Jordan,
and a smattering of socially conservative groups – the National
Organization for Marriage (NOM), FRC Action and Concerned Women for
America (CWA) – joined the boycott.
GOProud has not attended since.
“CPAC is about finding conservative
solutions to every challenge in America and not just saying 'no,'”
Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union (ACU), which
runs CPAC, told the National
Journal.
However, in 2011 Cardenas said that the
ACU invites organizations “that adhere by what our beliefs are.”
“If you are a group – and this has
got nothing to do with your orientation – if you are a group of
straight couples and you advocate for gay marriage, that is not
within the scope of what we believe the three legs of the stool of
the movement are,” Cardenas
said.
GOProud has been invited to attend the
March 6-8 conservative gathering as guests, without sponsorship or a
booth.
“We welcome GOProud's attendance at
this year's CPAC conference,” said Dan Schneider, executive
director of the ACU. “I believe their presence could help
establish a productive relationship in the future.”