The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) have finally received recognition from the California Republican Party.
The 38-year-old gay GOP group, that had unsuccessfully sought a charter from the state party several times in the past, received formal recognition with a 861-293 vote Sunday at the party’s biannual convention in Sacramento.
The Los Angeles Times reported that Brandon Gesicki, a delegate from Carmel who supported the effort, said the vote showed how much the party in California has changed in recent years.
“It would have been the complete opposite 15 years ago,” said Gesicki, who also turned in a proxy vote from former Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado supporting the recognition. “The fringe does not control the party anymore. We truly are a big tent once again.”
Charles Moran, chairman of the Log Cabin California chapter, was visibly emotional after Sunday’s vote.
“I’m personally overwhelmed,” he said, noting that he got his start in politics as a staffer at the state party in 1999. “This is the culmination of a 15-year journey for me.”
In last week’s Conservative Political Action Committee gathering in Maryland, despite being turned down as a sponsor the LCR’s executive director, Gregory T. Angelo was invited to speak on a panel.
According to the Los Angeles Times report the group’s effort received support from longtime GOP leaders, including national committee member Shawn Steel, former state party chairman Bob Naylor and Assemblyman Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita).
But LCR’s recognition was not without opposition with John Briscoe, president of the socially conservative California Republican Assembly, pointing to LCR’s support of same-sex marriage.
“I have a hard time understanding how we’re going to charter an organization that’s in opposition to our platform,” he said during the debate.
The Republican Party’s official platform does not support same-sex marriage.
