Gay Republicans Say They Are Optimistic Despite Rebuffs From Party

You might think this would be a discouraging time to be a gay Republican.

Social conservatives steered the party’s platform committee to adopt deeply conservative positions, not only keeping the door shut on marriage equality but refusing to consider support for civil unions for gay and lesbian couples. On the stump, Republican candidates fire up crowds with promises to protect the institution of marriage by keeping it exclusively heterosexual.

So why do gay Republicans insist that things are going their way?

“The Republican National Committee under Reince Priebus has made it clear that we have a place at the table,” said Casey Pick, the programs director for the Log Cabin Republicans, the party’s leading gay and lesbian organization. “We may not have won completely yet, but we are making progress.”