Gay Republicans at the convention: A rarity, except in DC delegation

CLEVELAND — Tucked into a remote corner of Quicken Loans Arena, behind Puerto Rico and next to the spillover seats for Texas, are the 19 delegates for the District of Columbia. The delegation, packed with city-dwelling lawyers and lobbyists and representing a Democratic stronghold, is always an outlier at a Republican National Convention.

But this year, the delegation bears a little-noticed distinction that sets it far, and somewhat awkwardly, apart from the rest: It is the gayest group in the hall. More than one-third of Washington's delegates — seven of the 19 — are gay or lesbian.

More than most, they can attest that this has not been the best week to be gay and Republican.

The party voted Monday to adopt what supporters and detractors have described as the most socially conservative platform ever. It includes multiple disapproving passages on gay rights, gay parenthood and transgender issues.

Delegates rejected efforts to add even the blandest platform language on gays, such as acknowledging that they are targets of the Islamic State or that the Republican Party condemns discrimination of gays.

The Democratic Party platform has called for general civil rights for gay men and lesbians since 1980.

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When Newt Gingrich mentioned on Wednesday night that gays, lesbians and transgender people are executed by Islamic extremists, he was met with scattered heckling in the convention hall.

The palpable unease over gays and gay rights loomed over a highly anticipated speech Thursday night by Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley software developer who was planning to declare from the lectern, "I am proud to be gay." It was expected to be a history-making moment.

"The party is becoming more and more narrow and more and more spiteful," said Christian Berle, an environmental policy analyst and one of the seven gay delegates from the District of Columbia. He added that he is struggling more than ever with why he remains a Republican as many of his friends leave the party. "I ask myself that question every day."

Thiel's appearance may offer Washington's delegation a little solace. But the limited history of gay speakers at the Republican convention is probably not comforting.

When Jim Kolbe, a gay congressman from Arizona, addressed the convention in 2000, he spoke about trade policy, making no mention of being gay or of gay rights. But that did not stop delegates from Texas, home of the nominee, Gov. George W. Bush, from removing their hats, bowing their heads and praying in a silent protest.

Rick Perry, the state's lieutenant governor at the time, explained their actions by saying, "Guess any time is a good time for prayer."

But to those from the nation's capital, such rejection is rare, making the events of this week all the more stinging.

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Rachel Hoff became the first openly gay or lesbian person to serve on the party's platform committee. She introduced amendment after amendment that tried to soften some of the harder-line language on homosexuality and gave an emotional speech in which she urged her fellow delegates "to include me and people like me."

"My standing in the D.C. Republican Party isn't threatened at all by this," she said in an interview. "It's actually enhanced."

And as she worked unsuccessfully to convince other Republicans in Cleveland that she was taking up a cause that was in the party's long-term interest, she said she detected some sympathy and concern. "I'd say the most common thing I heard was, 'Thank you for being here and please don't leave our party.'"

Like many gay Republicans from Washington, Hoff, a defense analyst, votes primarily on national security issues.

Why their delegation is so heavily gay and lesbian is largely a function of their surroundings. They live in a city that has one of the highest per-capita gay populations. Many of them work in politics, which tends to draw large numbers of gay people in both parties. They are the only solely urban delegation at the convention, and big cities typically have large concentrations of gays.

But one-third of the entire delegation is a remarkably high figure, given that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people make up less than 4 percent of the American population.

"Really? There are seven?" Tim Costa, one of the gay Washington delegates, asked as he stood on the convention floor the other night in a blue hat with a "Trump" logo. Despite the less-than-welcoming posture many in his party have taken toward gays, Costa, a Medicaid lobbyist, said he never had second thoughts about being a Republican. "I started volunteering in Republican politics when I was 5 years old," he said, adding that he was drawn to the party's embrace of limited government. "I'm very comfortable and happy here."

José Cunningham, chairman of the District of Columbia Republican Party, described himself as Republican primarily for national security reasons. But the party also aligned with other aspects of who he is, even if not with his sexuality.

"I'm gay, Latino, American, pro-life, evangelical," Cunningham, a marketing executive for a law firm, said. "Why didn't they put me onstage?"