Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2003. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
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Washington Blade - May 16, 2003
Joe Crea
About 200 LCR members met with three White House officials: Dr. Joseph O'Neill, the openly gay White House AIDS czar, Brett Kavanaugh, associate White House counsel, and Holly Kuzmich, associate director of the White House domestic policy council, at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.
The discussions focused on AIDS, education and nominees to the federal bench, according to Mark Mead, political director for LCR. Patrick Guerriero, Log Cabin's executive director, told the New York Times that the meetings with White House officials were "substantive and really terrific policy discussions," but noted that the Sen. Santorum controversy was not discussed.
"The core of the Republican Party, from the White House to Congress, understands that we're an important part of the American family," Guerriero told the Times.
Sen. Santorum came under fire after likening gay sex to incest and polygamy in an April 7 interview with the Associated Press.
Abner Mason, chair of the International Committee for the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS and executive director for the non-profit AIDS Responsibility Project, met privately with Dr. O'Neill on Friday and said he was pleased with the tone of the convention.
"It was tremendously inspiring to see so many gay Republicans excited about what, generally, the administration has accomplished and the presidential AIDS initiative specifically," said Mason, a former Log Cabin official. "The president's AIDS initiative confirms the confidence that gay Republicans had that the president would be a true compassionate conservative."
Ken Lisaius, a White House spokesperson, downplayed the meeting saying that it was one of many policy meetings that interest groups often seek, according to an Associated Press report.
Guerriero told the Associated Press that in light of Sen. Santorum's remarks, much work is still needed to improve acceptance of gays within the GOP.
"If we were completely satisfied that the Republican Party was as inclusive as we wished, we would cease to exist," Guerriero said. "It's obvious that the issue of inclusiveness in the Republican Party is going to be a major issue."
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
Log Cabin Republicans
1607 17th Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20009
202-347-5306
www.lcr.org
030516
WB030506
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