Republicans split over gay unions

A US Republican Party faction which supports gay and lesbian people has spoken out against its own party’s National Committee chairman, Michael Steele, for speaking out against same-sex marriage.

Terry Hamilton, national chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans, said the party needs to change its attitude towards same-sex unions if it is to get over November’s landslide election losses.

The statement was made after a recent radio interview where Steele dismissed supporting civil unions in the future.

What would we do that for? What are you, crazy? he told the radio host.

No. Why would we backslide on a core founding value of this country?

I mean this isn’t something that you just kind of like, -˜Oh well, today I feel, you know, loosey-goosey on marriage.’

Hamilton said the Republican party should be looking to a more inclusive policy on relationship rights to attract younger and female voters.

The politics of the past were clearly rejected in the November election, he said. We hope chairman Steele will work to build a more inclusive Republican Party that can win elections.

Such comments marginalise gay and lesbian Americans, and further alienate the mainstream, moderate, and independent-minded voters that left the Republican Party in the November election.

Steele has strongly opposed gay unions in the past. In January 2005 he reportedly joined conservative religious leaders at a Baltimore rally calling for a statewide constitutional ban on same-sex unions.