News

Nicholson Publicly Agrees to Meeting with Log Cabin Repubicans

June 22, 1998

Chuck Raasch of Gannett News Service: GOP Chair Jim Nicholson said in a 6/19 breakfast with reporters that he will meet with the Log Cabin Republicans, "but denied it has anything to do with comments" by Senate Maj. Leader Trent Lott (MS) Nicholson: "I do not understand homosexuality particularly well. I don't agree with the homosexual lifestyle. But I don't think we ought to discriminate against anyone." Asked whether he agrees with Lott equating homosexuality with alcoholism, Nicholson said, 'I have not thought of it in those terms" (6/19).

Tafel Warns GOP in Op-Ed

Under the header, "'Big Tent' or Small Minds?", Log Cabin Republicans Exec. Dir. Richard Tafel writes in the Baltimore Sun: "I'm an ordained American Baptist minister who also was born gay. Lott claimed to speak for all Christians when he claimed that homosexuality is a sin and an illness that should be treated. But history shows that every time our country has tried to move forward on the issue of equality, large parts of the country oppose it, and invariably, they back up their opinions with their interpretations of the Bible. ... Log Cabin Republicans exist to educate Republicans on this matter; sadly, Lott remains one of the very few senators who refuses to meet with our group. ... So the question remains: Will we be the party of limited government, free markets and individual rights, or will we become a group of Bible-debating Southern Baptists? Voters across America are scratching their heads in bewilderment as our so-called leaders stumble toward a decision. And November is right around the corner" (6/21).