Just 21 percent of self-described homosexual, bisexual, or transsexual Americans support the Republican Party, according to a new Gallup poll. Sixty-three percent of the same population supports Democrats.
The numbers are sharply different than those identifying as non-LGBT — 42 percent of Americans are Republican or Republican-leaning, while 44 percent of heterosexual Americans support the Democratic Party.
Similar differences exist for support for how President Obama is doing his job. Sixty-one percent of LGBT Americans approve of the job he is doing, compared to 33 percent who do not. Forty-two percent of non-LGBT Americans support the president, while 53 percent do not.
Only 20 percent of LGBT Americans say they are conservative, compared to 38 percent of heterosexual Americans, and 46 percent are liberal, compared to 23 percent of heterosexual Americans.
Despite their low support for the GOP, Americans who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transsexual have long had influence in the party.
Log Cabin Republicans holds some clout in Washington political circles, and the now-defunct GOProud was a cosponsor at multiple Conservative Political Action Conferences (CPAC). CPAC is one of the largest and most important annual gatherings for conservative activists, candidates, and politicians.
Log Cabin Republicans formally backs same-sex “marriage,” as did GOProud. This week, the group announced a list of Republican mayors who back the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a favorite legislative tool of the homosexual movement. ENDA would make it illegal to hire or fire employees on the basis of sexuality, among other aspects. A religious exemption was included in the version passed by the Senate in 2013.
Former Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Ken Mehlman, who was considered a “closeted” homosexual during his term, publicly declared that he was gay in 2010. Earlier this year, a Politico article highlighted a number of Bush-era White House employees who worked for the junior Bush but opposed his pro-marriage rhetoric and policies.
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The sitting chairman of the RNC, Reince Priebus, said last year that Republicans should treat homosexuals with “dignity and respect.” At CPAC 2014 in March, he also said that the GOP is “a party that believes marriage ought to be between one man and one woman. That's our party platform, and it's a position I've never backed away from.”
“What I have said, though, is that we need to treat each other with grace, dignity, and respect. And that's not code language. It comes out of the New Testament. And so there should be no confusion about where we stand, and so that's where we are,” said Priebus. Moments later, he also said that he is “not walking on down the street” announcing his position against same-sex relationships, “but if someone wants to ask me…I didn't dance” around the issue.
A recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey estimated that 2.3 percent of Americans identify as homosexual or bisexual.