Message to Gay Conservatives: Be Less Gay

The new head of the American Conservative Union, the primary sponsor of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, says it's great to have a gay group at the conference as long as its focus is not on, well, gay issues.

Of the gay conservative group GOProud, which has had a presence at the last two CPACs, ACU chairman Al Cardenas (pictured) told Human Events magazine, "The problem is that GOProud didn't help us any in being inclusive, because they used that platform to be quite aggressive [outside CPAC]. They started taunting some of our board members."

He added, "The ideal GOProud participation would have been, 'You know what, guys? This is an inclusive society. We're as interested in these fiscal issues as you are. Fill your website with fiscal issues that you're for and be a mainstream discusser of issues. We just happen to have a different lifestyle.' And if they'd done that, they would have laid the groundwork for things that would have been pretty good."

A look Tuesday morning at the GOProud website actually finds it filled with fiscal issues, including, on the home page, endorsements of Rep. Paul Ryan's budget proposal and a plan for school choice in the District of Columbia. The home page also highlights national security matters and carries just one gay-specific item, addressing GOProud's activism on gay rights globally.

GOProud executive director Jimmy LaSalvia, contacted by The Advocate, had no comment on Cardenas's statements. Read the full Cardenas interview here.