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| Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) spoke at a Log Cabin Republican inauguration
event last week. Smith has a mixed record on gay rights. He’s a co-sponsor
of a hate crimes bill that includes sexual orientation, but supported a constitutional
ban on gay marriage in his home state. (Photo by Rudy K. Lawidjaja)
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: LOU CHIBBARO JR. COMMENTS
 
Ranil Ninala of Dallas and his friend, Albert Rios of San Antonio, arrived together
in tuxedos at the Constitution Ball at the Washington Hilton Hotel, one of nine
official Inaugural Balls held Jan. 20 in honor of President Bush’s second
term in office.
Earlier in the day, the two sat together on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol
Building for the swearing-in ceremony for Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.
“We’re optimistic that we can work with him,” Ninala said,
in discussing Bush’s record on gay civil rights. “I’m optimistic
about it.”
Ninala and Rios were among the gay Republicans who came to the nation’s
capital last week for a wide range of inaugural events, including the official
balls, receptions and parties, according to Christopher Barron, spokesperson
for Log Cabin Republicans, a national gay organization.
Log Cabin Republicans held a Jan. 21 reception at its headquarters on 17th
Street, NW, to honor Log Cabin members attending the inaugural events. The group
held a separate reception the following day at a nearby hotel to honor Bob Kabel,
a Log Cabin board member who was elected last fall as chair of the D.C. Republican
Party.
The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay political group,
held an “inaugural” open house at its headquarters on 17th Street,
three blocks south of the Log Cabin offices, for gays and their supporters interested
in discussing common concerns about the inauguration. HRC spokesperson J. Smith
said most of those attending were gay and straight protesters who participated
in demonstrations against the Bush administration on Inauguration Day. “Some
came by to get warm,” said Smith, on a day marked by frigid temperatures
and biting wind.
The New York City group QueerFist led a small protest march from Dupont Circle
to the Log Cabin and HRC offices, where it conducted what the group called a
runway “fascism show” to mock the two groups’ “pandering
for conservative gay support.” Adrian Saldana, one of the group’s
members, said about seven or eight QueerFist members from New York recruited
more than a dozen D.C.-area gays to participate in the events. Among other things,
the group criticized HRC and Log Cabin for supporting same-sex marriage, saying
that “gay marriage proponents serve only the affluent gay and lesbian
community” by failing to provide health care and other benefits to the
“working class,” according to a news release issued by the group.
Barron attended another one of the nine official balls, the Independence Ball,
at the D.C. Convention Center with his domestic partner, John Gardner. He said
gay Republicans flocked to the inaugural events for the same reason their straight
counterparts did: They support the president on most issues and look forward
to working with the administration to advance common goals.
“The election of 2004 is over,” Barron said. “We need to
move forward. We need to find ways to work with this president.”
The most visible same-sex couple attending the inaugural events was Mary Cheney,
daughter of Vice President Cheney, and her domestic partner, Heather Poe. Mary
Cheney and Poe were among the Cheney family members accompanying the vice president
to the Capitol swearing-in ceremony.
Mary Cheney also joined Jenna Bush, daughter of President Bush, and the newly
installed Republican National Committee Chair, Ken Mehlman, at a Jan. 19 inauguration
eve party at the Wyndham Washington Hotel for young Republican contributors
who raised $50,000 or more for the Bush campaign. According to a report by the
Washington Post, Mehlman referred to the young contributors, whom the Bush campaign
calls the “Mavericks,” as the next generation of GOP leaders.
Mary Cheney served for about a year on the board of the Republican Unity Coalition,
a group formed in 2001 as a “gay-straight alliance” of Republicans
seeking to welcome gays into the party. But she has made no public statements
about her role as a lesbian or her views on gay rights issues since Bush chose
her father as his vice presidential running mate in the 2000 election. With
her father and President Bush winning election in November 2004 to a second
— and final — term, gay activists will be watching with interest
to see if Mary Cheney breaks her silence and speaks out on gay issues.
Patrick Guerriero, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans, ...
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