Who are the Log Cabin Republicans, the LGBTQ+ conservative group?

"LGBTQ+ Americans vote overwhelmingly Democratic - 86 percent of voters from the community chose Kamala Harris as president in 2024, according to NBC News exit polls, and just 12 percent went for Donald Trump. But there are LGBTQ+ Republicans, and for decades, the chief organization speaking for them has been the Log Cabin Republicans. Today, it has a record 80 chapters in 40 states and is an enthusiastic backer of Trump, who has a record of anti-LGBTQ+ policies and comments."

"The organization has its roots in the fight against a 1978 ballot initiative that sought to bar gays and lesbians from teaching in the public schools (very few people thought much about bisexual or transgender people at the time), along with anyone who supposedly supported homosexuality. It was proposed by John Briggs, an ultraconservative Republican state senator, so hence it was known as the Briggs Initiative (formally, Proposition 6). Former California Gov. Ronald Reagan, close to mounting his 1980 presidential campaign, became the most prominent Republican opponent of the Briggs Initiative (with some persuasion from Democratic gay activist David Mixner). In a newspaper column, quoted on the Log Cabin website, Reagan wrote that the measure was unnecessary and that it might lead to chaos. "It has the potential for real mischief," he wrote. "What if an overwrought youngster, disappointed by bad grades, imagined it was the teacher's fault and struck out by accusing the teacher of advocating homosexuality? Innocent lives could be ruined." The initiative was defeated by a million votes."

Eighty-six percent of LGBTQ+ Americans voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 while 12 percent voted for Donald Trump, according to NBC News exit polls. The Log Cabin Republicans serve as a primary organization for LGBTQ+ conservatives and have expanded to a record 80 chapters across 40 states. The group openly supports Donald Trump despite his history of anti-LGBTQ+ policies and statements. Log Cabin traces its origins to opposition to California's 1978 Briggs Initiative, which sought to bar gays and lesbians from teaching and to target alleged supporters of homosexuality. The Briggs Initiative was defeated by about a million votes.

Read at Advocate.com