CA GOP has first openly gay board member

SFGate.com ^ | 3/21/11 | Joe Garofoli

[NormsRevenge]

Lost amidst all insider bickering, Haley Barbour question-dodging, press-banning and John Bolton sabre-rattling at the weekend California Republican convention was a bit of history:

The party elected its first openly gay board member. And we didn't see a hoot of protest about it.

"Well, openly gay," quipped Gregory Gandrud, who just took his seat on the 23-member board. The 50-year-old Carpinteria (Santa Barbara County) resident is a longtime party activist, and Capinteria council member from 2002-2006.

So about being "the first" -- a caveat: The California Log Cabin Republicans believe he is the first California Republican Party board member. Gandrud does, too. National Log Cabiners could only think of one other person on a national board. But the CRP itself isn't sure:

...

It's a bit strange that the party didn't announce it at the convention, especially when new party chair Tom Del Beccaro and other officials made such an effort to talk about how the party was going to reach out to new audiences.

Gandrud told us he didn't make it an issue in his campaign. .. "asked if I was going to make it an issue in my campaign. I told them, 'I don't plan on it. I hope nobody else does,'" Gandrud told us.

And no one did. Perhaps that Republican "pup tent" just got a little bigger. Among Gandrud's endorsers: GOP party chair Tom Del Beccaro, Treasurer Mike Osborn and state Sen. Tony Strickland -- none known for their liberal tendencies.

Gandrud thought it was a positive that the uber-conservative California Republican Assembly -- while it didn't endorse him -- didn't actively oppose him or fund a rival candidate to run against him. He's not married to his partner of four years, but they have been registered domestic partners for three.

[newzjunkey]

aren’t all gays, ‘openly gay’ these days?

Absolutely not. And if you look at the comments on this topic you'll see why.

It's not like the "gay community" has any tolerance or acceptance of Republican or religious homosexuals. They're treated like Justice Thomas or Herman Cain at an NAACP rally.