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| Patrick Guerriero, president of Log Cabin Republicans, is leaving the gay GOP group and moving to Denver to become executive director of the Gill Action Fund, a newly formed bipartisan gay advocacy group. |
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pan>In nearly three years as president of the Log Cabin Republicans, Patrick Guerriero presided over an eventful period in the gay rights movement.
pan>• October 2003 — During his first month as Log Cabin president, Guerriero called for an end to infighting between gay and lesbian organizations.
pan>• Fall 2003 — Shortly thereafter, Log Cabin filed its first-ever amicus brief in the historic Lawrence vs. Texas case, which ultimately struck down all remaining anti-gay sodomy laws.
pan>• March 2004 — Log Cabin launched a television advertising campaign opposing a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and helped lobby against the measure, which President Bush supports.
pan>• October 2004 — Log Cabin files lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the military's "Don't Ask Don't Tell" policy.
pan>• Fall 2004 — Log Cabin declines to endorse George W. Bush for president following Bush's support of the marriage amendment. The move angered some longtime Log Cabin members. In a story published by the Blade in October, 2004, sources "reported learning of discontent among the ranks of a small but influential corps of gay Republicans who believe Guerriero has gone beyond the board's non-endorsement mandate by harshly criticizing the president in television appearances and newspaper commentaries."
pan>• November 2004 — Bush is re-elected, raising questions about the level of access Log Cabin will have to the administration after it failed to endorse the president.
pan>• April 2005 — Former Log Cabin COO Dwight Lodge files a lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully terminated after accusing Guerriero of financial improprieties; the suit was recently settled but terms were not disclosed.
pan>• April 20, 2005 — Connecticut Republican Gov. Jodi Rell signs the first-ever non-court mandated civil unions bill.
pan>• March 2006 — Log Cabin's challenge to the military's ban on openly gay service members was dismissed on technical grounds; Guerriero vowed to re-file the case.
• May 23, 2006 — Guerriero announces resignation as Log Cabin president to take helm of Gill Action Fund.
Log Cabin Republicans
1607 17th St N.W.
Washington, DC 20009
202-347-5306
www.logcabin.org
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HOME > NEWS > NATIONAL NEWS
By: ELIZABETH A. PERRY COMMENTS
 
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voters this fall in a tough climate for GOP candidates.
The group will also work to defeat a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that will be voted on next month by reaching out to Republican officials, senators and staff.
“We will focus our efforts on Republican senators we know are open-minded,” said Guerriero. “We will reach out to those who were formally with us in 2004 [when the Federal Marriage Amendment was defeated] and senators who expressed serious reservations about how the matter was handled by the states.”
When asked what the Log Cabin Republicans can do to attract gays to the Republican Party, Guerriero said the group will continue to strengthen chapters in conservative “red states.”
“There is a new generation of Republicans who are getting active in gay and lesbian advocacy,” he said. “That didn’t used to happen before. There is a civil war going as to where the party is headed. The conservatives are weighing in and saying the party needs to get back on course. The first lady [Laura Bush], the vice president [Dick Cheney], Mary Cheney and [former Republican Sen.] John Danforth have started to come out as conservatives against the marriage amendment.”
John Marble, communications director for the National Stonewall Democrats, said Guerriero has been a consensus builder at the Log Cabin Republicans. He said the Stonewall Democrats were happy to work with him on issues that crossed party lines.
“We worked together on the marriage amendment and made sure same-sex families were included in the government’s survivor benefits program after 9/11,” he said.
Log Cabin Chair Tim Schoeffler said the organization is “profoundly grateful” for Guerriero’s leadership.
“Patrick led the organization through unprecedented growth, including dozens of new chapters, thousands of new members and a 400 percent increase in our annual budget,” Schoeffler said in a statement. “We will miss him greatly, but we wish him the best of luck, and we look forward to working with him as executive director of Gill Action.”
From his first day on the job with the Log Cabin Republicans, Guerriero called for an end to the political infighting between gay organizations.
“Patrick has reached out extensively to Republicans and Democrats alike,” former Human Rights Campaign executive d
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