Gay Conservatives Group Endorses Romney
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(NEW YORK) — Despite his recently-announced support for gay marriage, not all gay rights groups are showing their love for President Obama.
GOProud, a group for gay Republicans that supports conservative principles, announced yesterday that it was “enthusiastically” endorsing the presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
“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.
LaSalvia said the election is “bigger than just one issue,” such as gay rights, and when it comes to the “biggest issues facing our country” like jobs and the debt, he said Obama has “failed.”
“I happen to believe that just because you were born gay doesn’t mean you were born liberal,” LaSalvia told ABC News. “And while I don’t agree with Gov. Romney on everything, in general we share a view that a limited government is better than a big bloated federal government.”
But the group’s decision to endorse Romney was not without hiccups. LaSalvia noted in the statement that GOProud “strongly” disagrees with Romney’s support of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
Two GOProud board members voted against the Romney endorsement, with co-founder Christopher Barron saying he will continue to support Gov. Gary Johnson, who is running for president as a Libertarian.
The gay rights group’s endorsement sparked outrage from outspoken LGBT activist Dan Savage, who dubbed the endorsement “pathetic.”
“The GOP’s house faggots grab their ankles, right on cue… Pathetic,” Savage tweeted with a link to story about the endorsement.
Savage said it was “ridiculous” and “insulting to the intelligence of gay people everywhere” for a group that advocates for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities to support Romney, who wants to re-instate “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and the Defense of Marriage Act, which bans gay marriage.
According to Savage, LGBT equality is an issue that affects every aspect of politics, from social issues to the economy.
“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.”
GOProud pledged to “commit significant resources” to help Romney beat Obama.
Copyright 2012 ABC News Radio