NEW YORK: Log Cabin Republicans To Join Coalition For Marriage Equality

Yesterday I reported that Freedom To Marry, Marriage Equality New York, the Empire State Pride Agenda, and the Human Rights Campaign were joining in an unprecedented coalition to bring marriage equality to New York. You can now add the Log Cabin Republicans to that list. Via press release:

With the addition of the Log Cabin Republicans, the coalition now includes all five leading LGBT rights organizations operating in New York State. The announcement by the Log Cabin Republicans of New York–representing Republicans who support fairness, freedom and equality for gay and lesbian Americans–reflects the bipartisan support in New York State for allowing all loving and committed couples to marry. Support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle will be needed for passage. “Marriage is not a progressive or conservative issue. It’s an issue of equal rights for taxpaying citizens of this state,” said Gregory T. Angelo, Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans of New York State. “For the first time, we are truly united in our fight to ensure every single New Yorker has the right to marry the person he or she loves.”

DOMA Author To Keynote LCR Confab

Former GOP Rep. Bob Barr, who is honestly so terribly sorry about authoring that DOMA thing, will keynote the upcoming Log Cabin Republicans convention. Chris Johnson reports at the Washington Blade:

R. Clarke Cooper, Log Cabin’s executive director, called Barr’s attendance at the dinner “living proof that Republicans are becoming more inclusive, and doing so for conservative reasons.” “As a freshman member of Congress in 1996, Barr wrote DOMA,” Cooper said. “He has since come to the conclusion that ‘DOMA’s language reflects one-way federalism’ and that the law ‘has become a de facto club used to limit, if not thwart, the ability of a state to choose to recognize same-sex unions,’ contrary to the traditional Republican respect for states’ rights, and that DOMA should be repealed.” Passed by Congress in 1996, DOMA prohibits federal recognition of same-sex marriage. Both President Clinton, who signed the bill into law, and Barr have since come out in favor of repealing the law. Cooper added that Barr’s new stand on DOMA demonstrates “what a real evolution on marriage looks like” — presumably a dig at President Obama’s remark that his lack of support for same-sex marriage could “evolve” into a endorsement.

I suppose it's mildly interesting to see the LCR embrace a whackadoodle Libertarian like Barr - that seems more like GOProud territory. Incidentally, shortly after Barr introduced the resolution to impeach Bill Clinton, Larry Flynt revealed that Barr had cheated on his second wife with the woman who became his third. Flynt also uncovered proof that the rabidly anti-abortion Barr had paid for his second wife's abortion. Whoopsie.

Other Barr tidbits: Social Security is "immoral," gays shouldn't be allowed to adopt, teachers should lead prayers in public schools, guns for everybody, etc etc.

Log Cabin Head Backs Boehner On DOMA

Chris Matthews rips Log Cabin president R. Clark Cooper over his backing of House Speaker John Boehner's plan to defend DOMA.

LCR To Court: Keep DADT Case Open

Yesterday the Log Cabin Republicans filed a brief demanding that a San Francisco federal appeals court continue to hear their DADT repeal lawsuit.

Lawyers for Log Cabin Republicans filed a brief Monday arguing that because the ban has not been lifted, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals needs to maintain its schedule in the government's challenge to the lower court's ruling. It came in response to a Justice Department motion seeking to suspend the case for at least three months. The department faces a Jan. 24 deadline for submitting opening arguments. Government lawyers say putting the appeal on hold would allow the Pentagon to focus on training troops and other tasks necessary for completing the repeal of the ban.