Gay Republican group says being excluded from Texas GOP convention is 'not just narrow-minded, but politically short-sighted'

• The Log Cabin Republicans of Fort Worth said they were not allowed a booth at the Texas Republican Party Convention.
• The group is part of a national organization that represents LGBTQ conservatives.

A group of Texas Republicans who represent conservatives in the LGBTQ community said they were denied the ability to set up a booth at the Texas Republican Party Convention.

The Log Cabin Republicans of Fort Worth, a chapter of the national Log Cabin Republicans organization, said they were not allowed to set up a booth at the convention, which took place in Houston over the weekend and featured several Republican organizations and vendors, The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

The move prompted a comment from the national Log Cabin Republicans, whose president called the decision "narrow-minded."

"It's clear that inclusion wins, which makes the Texas Republican Party leadership's decision to exclude the Texas Log Cabin Republicans from their convention not just narrow-minded, but politically short-sighted," President Charles Moran said in a statement, citing former President Donald Trump's support of LGBTQ Republicans.

The Texas GOP also discussed policy proposals that would push the party further to the right, including voting on a platform declaring homosexuality "an abnormal lifestyle choice," The Texas Tribune reported.

According to the Star-Telegram, the deciding vote on accepting or denying applications for a booth comes down to the state Republican Party Chair, Matt Rinaldi.

"I think they made the right decision based on our rule on booth approval," Rinaldi told the Star-Telegram. "I think it's inappropriate given the state of our nation right now for us to play sexual identity politics."

The convention's list of legislative priorities included calls to "Ban Gender Modification of Children" and to "Stop Sexualizing Texas Kids," the latter of which aims to prohibit any discussion with children on "sexual matters (mechanics, feelings, orientation, or 'gender identity' issues)."

Jason Baldwin, the president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Fort Worth, said he was annoyed about being "lumped in" with people who support allowing children access to puberty blockers or taking them to drag shows. He said it isn't "identity politics" to go against his party in support of gay marriage.

"I think what bothers me is, is that our group is being lumped in as, just because we identify as LGBT we somehow support all of that," Baldwin told the Star-Telegram. "This is something to do with LGBT people and not so much with our state identity politics and/or being against the party platform."

In a tweet, the national Log Cabin Republicans shared a statement from Donald Trump Jr. criticizing the Texas Republican Party's decision.

—Log Cabin Republicans (@LogCabinGOP) June 18, 2022

"The Texas GOP should focus its energy on fighting back against the radical Democrats and weak RINOS... instead of canceling a group of gay conservatives who are standing in the beach with us," Trump Jr. said.