GOProud Chief Goes Wrong, Apologizes

I was pleased to see this excellent article on the GOProud controversy. I was definitely not pleased to see a quote in there of GOProud chairman Chris Barron calling a prominent conservative a "nasty bigot." Because that's what they do, the "Gay Taliban", as Chris calls liberal gay activists. It's the gay equivalent of a liberal yelling "racist" -- an attempt to shame or shock another into silence. And that's not supposed to be what we do.

Chris is a friend and I told him that was a problem. GayPatriot, who serves as GOProud Treasurer also expressed displeasure. To his credit, Chris apologized quickly for the slur.

“For the past six months, we have watched as unfair and untrue attacks have been leveled against our organization, our allies, our friends and sometimes even their families. Everyone has their breaking point and clearly in my interview with Metro Weekly I had reached mine. I shouldn’t have used the language that I did to describe Cleta Mitchell and for that I apologize."

Unfortunately, the damage is done. Incoming ACU chief Al Cardenas says it will be hard to keep the relationship with GOProud.

Incidentally, a writer for American Spectator scolds Chris:

He needs to understand that objections to his group's participation stems from their policy positions and the way they have pushed them -- what they believe and how they act politically, not who they are in private. Going beyond pushing a state recognition of certain contractual rights for homosexuals, all the way to demanding state-approved homosexual marriage, is so obviously a fundamental change in conservatism as to clearly be a cause for serious misgivings.

Of course, gay marriage has never been a GOProud "policy position" (GOProud steers clear of state issues and believes states should be free to chose their own marriage policies). This AmSpec writer either doesn't know that, or doesn't care. Her error is a common one for GOProud detractors; not knowing a thing about the organization certainly doesn't stop them from opining. That's part of what has been driving Chris to use inappropriate language.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 09:07 AM

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