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Log Cabin Republicans PAC Statement on Presidential Endorsement Decision

October 22, 2016

"Trust, but verify."

So cautioned former President Ronald Reagan who inspired our founding in 1977-and it is a solemn understanding of that very instruction from our 40th president that compels Log Cabin Republicans to withhold endorsement from our Party's current nominee.

Mr. Trump is perhaps the most pro-gay presidential nominee in the history of the Republican Party. His unprecedented overtures to the "gay community"-a first for any major-party candidate in our nation's history-are worthy of praise, and should serve as a clarion call to the GOP that the days of needing to toe an anti-gay line are now a thing of the past.

But Log Cabin Republicans have long emphasized that we are not a single-issue organization, nor are our members single-issue voters. Even if we were, rhetoric alone regarding gay issues does not equate to doctrine. As Mr. Trump spoke positively about the gay community in the United States, he concurrently surrounded himself with senior advisors with a record of opposing gay equality, and committed himself to supporting legislation such as the so-called "First Amendment Defense Act" that Log Cabin Republicans opposes.

Should Mr. Trump become our nation's next President, Log Cabin Republicans welcomes the opportunity to work with his administration to ensure the advances in gay freedom we have fought for and secured will continue.

Until and unless that happens, our trust would be misplaced.

Log Cabin Republicans will spend the remainder of the 2016 election cycle committed to preserving and growing GOP majorities in the United States Senate and House of Representatives.