Jimmy LaSalvia, executive director of
gay GOP group GOProud, believes economic issues will drive LGBT
people to vote for Mitt Romney.
In a Fox News Fox and Friends
appearance, LaSalvia discussed with host Gretchen Carlson the
lack of a question on the issue of gay marriage during Wednesday's
presidential debate.
President Barack Obama in May endorsed
marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, while Romney supports a
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
“I think the president would have
loved to talk about it because he hasn't wanted to talk about his
record on jobs and the economy,” LaSalvia said. “But gay people
aren't any different than anyone else. All over the country, gay
people are living paycheck to paycheck, worried about their future
and wondering how much longer they can hold on.”
“I think that everybody wants to know
that both candidates can see things from their perspective and look
at issues from their perspective and understand how issues affect
them. Whether or not they agree on any specific issue. So I think
that people have that in the back of their mind. But at the end of
the day they want to know what the plan is going forward, and Mitt
Romney has that plan,” he added. (The video is embedded on this
page. Visit
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In
a statement issued to BuzzFeed, Fred Sainz, vice president for
communications for the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), disagreed with
LaSalvia's comments, saying discrimination can effect the pocket
books of gay folks.
“I don't disagree with Jimmy. Jobs,
the economy, our foreign affairs are all important issues to LGBT
Americans. What Jimmy misses is that a tough economy is made worse
for LGBT people by the lack of legal protections, whether it be
employment nondiscrimination protections or the existence of DOMA.”
“Obama wants to get rid of these
barriers,” he added. “Romney wants to keep them.”