LGBTQ conservatism in the United States
Mid-20th-century homophile activists, who pursued civil rights for gays and lesbians in the United States, were primarily informed by Marxist political ideology and had ties to the American Communist Party.
[2] During an era dominated by anti-communist rhetoric, governmental, and social ideological policing, homophile movement organizations experienced pressure to deny communist affiliations.
For the Mattachine Society, the divisions publicly erupted in 1953, when, at the organization's "Constitutional Convention," a majority of the delegates supported resolutions to disavow 'leftist' ideologies and elect new leaders without ties to the Communist Party.
Often described as a dichotomy using the terms "assimilationist" and "liberationist," each designation refers to a style of activism used in achieving civil rights for sexual minorities.
Such divides, contingent upon movement strategies or policy priorities, yet maintaining a focus on civil rights for sexual minorities, persist in contemporary LGBTQ+ political debates.
The events taking place in New York's West Village throughout late June 1969 had far-reaching repercussions and further exacerbated the divide between those holding assimilationist and liberationist ideologies.
[11] In October 1972, a representative of the Committee to Re-elect the President addressed gay voters on behalf of Richard Nixon's campaign in San Francisco.
Additionally, Reagan has been criticized by some LGBTQ+ groups for allegedly ignoring (by failing to adequately address or fund) the growing AIDS epidemic, even as it took thousands of lives in the 1980s.
[15]Reagan made the comment in response to a questionnaire from the conservative publishers of the Presidential Biblical Scoreboard, a magazine-type compilation of past statements and voting records of national candidates.
[17][page needed] In 1992, the City Council of the District of Columbia passed "The Health Benefits Expansion Act", which was signed into law by the Mayor of Washington, D.C.
Every year from 1992 to 2000, the Republican leadership of the U.S. Congress added a rider to the District of Columbia appropriations bill that prohibited the use of federal or local funds to implement the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act.
[25] The campaign returned the contribution after openly lesbian columnist, Deb Price, of the Detroit News, asked about it after she saw it on a public report from the Federal Election Commission.
[31][32] Under the pressure, Dole admitted during an October 1995 press briefing on Capitol Hill, that he regretted the decision to return the check, and that his campaign was responsible for it without consulting him.
[37] On the closing night of the convention, Stephen Fong, then-president of the San Francisco chapter, spoke at the dais as part of a series of speeches from "mainstreet Americans", but was not publicly identified as gay.
In a statement released by LCR and confirmed to reporters by the campaign, Dole had pledged to maintain an executive order prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal workforce and full funding for AIDS programs.
[38] In 1997, Governor Bush signed into law a bill adding "A license may not be issued for the marriage of persons of the same sex" into the Texas Family Code.
Hate Crimes Act, which would have increased punishment for criminals motivated by hatred of a victim's gender, religion, ethnic background or sexual orientation, was killed in committee by Texas Senate Republicans.
LCR President Patrick Sammon said the most important reason for their support was McCain's opposition to the proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
[63] Margaret Hoover, a member of the advisory council, added her opinion into the mix, "GOProud has helped force gays out of the conservative establishment—what I would call the 'conser-va-gentsia'—to take on these self-anointed leaders of social conservatism.
[60] However, Republicans themselves have also frequently advocated for restricting foreign aid as a means of asserting the national security and immigration interests of the United States.
[71] In 2013, former President George H. W. Bush served as a witness at a same-sex wedding of Bonnie Clement and Helen Thorgalsen, who owns a general store together in Maine.
"[82] While his speech was seen as LGBTQ+-inclusive, his policy positions such as reviewing the Johnson Amendment, which prohibited tax-exempt organisations from endorsing candidates, and his stated aim of seeking an equally conservative replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia were seen as warming to the evangelical community and antithetical to LGBTQ+ rights.
In March 2017, the Census Bureau concluded they no longer needed to ask about sexual orientation and gender identity in their survey, which helps determine how to distribute hundreds of billions of federal dollars.
[96] In July 2019, Trump nominated a third openly gay man, career Senior Foreign Service Officer Robert S. Gilchrist, as the ambassador to Lithuania.
[99] On May 16, 2019, Trump said that he was "absolutely fine" with the same-sex marriage of Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, a presidential candidate in the Democratic primaries.
[114] In November 2019, The Trump administration proposed a rule that removed regulations that had banned discrimination based on sexual orientation in Health and Human Services programs – including adoption and foster care agencies.
[115] In a statement, Alphonso David, the president of the Human Rights Campaign, called the proposal "horrific" and said it would "permit discrimination across the entire spectrum of HHS programs receiving federal funding".
[144] Trump nominated, and the Senate confirmed, Matthew Kacsmaryk, a judge who once said that being transgender is a "mental disorder" and that support for LGBTQ+ rights is based on the "erotic desires of liberated adults".
[150] A 2012 Gallup survey, conducted June 1 to September 30, 2012, found 13% of LGBTQ+ Americans are Republican, 20% identify as conservative, and 22% plan or lean towards voting for Mitt Romney.
Social conservatives on the other side usually support countries that oppose LGBTQ rights, especially ones with a Christian majority (e.g., in Central America, the Caribbean, Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, Oceania and the Pacific Ocean).
