Log Cabin Republicans

The Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is a federated gay and lesbian political organization in the United States with state chapters and a national office in Washington, D.C. The Texas Chapter was founded in 1993. The Houston Chapter was founded in 1995. The group's constituency supports the Republican Party and advocates for gay and lesbian rights.

Gay conservatives in California formed the Log Cabin Republicans in response to the Briggs campaign which sought to ban gays and lesbians, and possibly anyone who supported gay rights, from working in California's public schools. The name of the organization is a reference to the first Republican President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a Log Cabin. President Lincoln built the Republican Party on the principles of liberty and equality.

From the guide to the Log Cabin Republicans of Houston Collection RG 1125., 1993 to 1995, (Houston Metropolitan Research Center, Houston Public Library)

Log Cabin Republicans (LCR) is an organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) people in the United States who espouse conservative political ideology and belong to the Republican Party. The group embraces former President Ronald Reagan’s “Big Tent” concept for the Republican Party. Members focus on shared Republican Party values--individual liberty, a strong national defense, and a free market economy- as they simultaneously advocate for GLBT rights and greater GLBT visibility within the party. The name Log Cabin Republicans was chosen to invoke the image of President Abraham Lincoln.

The Log Cabin Republicans formed in response to the Briggs Initiative-a 1977 California ballot initiative calling for the firing of openly gay educators in public schools. In the aftermath of Briggs, regional clubs formed throughout the 1980s. In 1987, in the wake of the National March on Washington, many local clubs began to work towards a national federation. Work on the federation was conducted under the auspices of an umbrella group of local chapters called United Republicans for Equality and Privacy (UREP.) UREP dissolved in 1990, and the organization renamed itself the Log Cabin National Federation (shorted to Log Cabin Federation by the new board of directors at a December, 1990 meeting.) All existing gay Republican clubs were invited at that time to join Log Cabin. Rich Tafel was elected as the first Log Cabin national president, with the intent of opening a national LCR office. The national office began partly in response to the infamous “culture wars” speech given at the 1992 Republican National Convention by Patrick Buchanan. The speech’s homophobic rhetoric spawned an urgent desire to marshall political clout to counteract homophobia in the party ranks and interest moderate gays and lesbians in party membership. The organization operated with a federation head and a national office head for several years. The Washington DC office opened in 1994, and Tafel was named Log Cabin's full time director. At the July, 1994 LCR convention, Tafel proposed that the Federation and the Log Cabin Republicans merge. The merger was completed in late 1995. At the time of the merger, the LCR Political Action Committee was also formed with the intent of providing funds for candidates with pro-gay stances on various issues.

The Liberty Education Forum (LEF) is the educational research foundation that has been affiliated with the LRC since the 1990s. The Forum goal is to advance conservative principles through education, training and research.

Since its inception, LRC has been involved in many of the significant social and political controversies of the times. LRC refused to endorse George Herbert Walker Bush in 1992 for not intervening on anti-gay convention rhetoric, called out the Dole campaign in 1996 for returning an LCR campaign contribution, supported George Walker Bush against Al Gore in 2000, and refused to endorse him for a second term for his support of the Federal Marriage Amendment.

LCR is notable for pushing for AIDS research and health services funding, lobbying against the Defense of Marriage Act and in favor of marriage for gays and lesbian couples, and pushing for the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards gays and lesbians serving in the military.

Leadership of the Log Cabin Republicans includes Rich Tafel (1990-2003), Patrick Guerriero (2003-2006), Patrick Sammon (2006-2009), R. Clark Cooper (2010-).

From the guide to the Log Cabin Republicans records, 1985-2012, (University of Minnesota Libraries. Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies)