Gay GOP group GOProud is ready to back
Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann for president if she wins the
Republican nomination.
While the group's president Chris
Barron told POLITICO.com that he is “troubled” by some of the
candidate's anti-gay rhetoric – specifically her support for a
federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage – Jimmy
LaSalvia, the group's executive director, is quoted in a Yahoo! News
story as saying his group has requested meetings with GOP
presidential candidates, including Bachmann.
“We have requested a meeting with
Michele Bachmann,” LaSalvia
told the site's political blog The
Ticket. “We've made this request, as with the other
requests, in good faith. The group plans to “discuss issues
important to gay conservatives.”
The Ticket notes that GOProud's
10-point list of legislative priorities includes only one issue that
directly affects gay men and lesbians: opposition to a federal
amendment banning gay marriage.
Bachmann as recently as two weeks ago
told the Christian Broadcasting Network's (CBN) David Brody that she
would work to defend state-enacted gay marriage bans and believes
there is a need for a federal amendment.
“As president of the United States, I
will not appoint activist judges who legislate from the bench,”
Bachmann said. “I will appoint constitutionalist judges who revere
and uphold our constitution. I believe that this is such a
fundamental issue to our nation – the strengthening of the family and the
importance of marriage between a man and a woman – that I will
stand for that as President of the United States.” (The video is
embedded in the right panel of this page.)
LaSalvia added that his group is
dedicated to placing any Republican in the White House, which would
include Bachmann.
“We are committed to defeating Barack
Obama in 2012,” LaSalvia said. “And want to be helpful to
whoever secures the GOP nomination.”