Most religious people treat gay people the exact same way as they would anyone else. Don’t label somebody homophobic just because they are religiously opposed to same-sex marriage, it doesn’t mean somebody hates you if they don’t believe two men or two women should be married. While I personally am not that religious, I do understand where these people come from, such as Catholics who view marriage as a sacrament. This has become a club for leftists to use against people who oppose same-sex marriage, like the baker from Colorado who refused to make a same-sex wedding cake based on religious reasons. What a lot of gay people don’t understand is that not supporting gay marriage does not equal hate for gay people. The radical left smears the religious right as hateful towards the gay community to push their political agenda and silence conservatives.
So why do Republicans get labeled as the party of hate? The answer is simple: religion. It has been both sides that haven’t really accepted gay people into politics until recently.
During his campaign, President Trump has made this an issue and is now the second president to have openly support gay rights. It hasn’t been until recently that both parties overwhelmingly accepted LGBTQ+ people in politics. The bill was later rightfully repealed by the Obama administration in the later years of his first term. These restrictions limited the freedoms that other people take for granted. This bill restricted gay people from talking about their sexuality and engaging in sexual acts with each other in the military. Not a lot of people recall the ‘Don’t ask Don’t tell’ bill that Bill Clinton signed into law in 1993. Gay people have only been really accepted into society recently - Republicans and Democrats both were not very fond of gay people. So, why do Republicans get schlacked for being the “homophobic party?” Well, it’s rather interesting. Towson University did not even contact our organization, has yet to make a statement on this, and has since covered it up as if it never even happened. Later that night, homophobic graffiti targeting me was spray painted on Smith Hall signaling to me that I was not welcome. Just recently, the organization I am a part of, Turning Point USA Towson, hosted an event called ‘Winning the Meme Wars.’ Radical Democrats from Freedom School took videos slandering everyone in the room and asking people if they “recognized them” hunting them down and doxing people across social media. It is ironic, since conservatives get clubbed constantly for being a “homophobic” party, when the progressive base of the Democrat Party can’t even acknowledge there might be some who don’t agree with their agenda. It feels like have been excommunicated from the LGBTQ+ community because of my political beliefs. All of these reactions thrown my way just for daring to go against the status quo in the community. Reactions range from “wtf is wrong with you” to “F– Donald Trump” and even “you’re a fake homo” and people wishing death to the president. I avoid politics as much as possible until directly asked what I believe and then I show my cards, the Republican card and the Trump card. Dating, along with being accepted by other gay people, is one of the biggest challenges I have ever had to face. You expect that your own, open-minded community would be tolerant and accepting of different viewpoints, you would be wrong. Getting shunned by the party of tolerance and viewed as a Benedict Arnold has been an eye opener for me. Since I have come out, the Republican party has been one of the most accepting and tolerant towards my beliefs and lifestyle however, I can’t say the same for my own community and the Democrat Party. But the truth is, that isn’t the Republican Party at all. Many people within the LGBTQ+ community view the Republican Party as this evil, bigoted, and horrific party. To many people, being a gay Republican might seem like an oxymoron due to the stigma that surrounds the Republican Party. While socially, I am a little more moderate, I am conservative on economics and foreign policy. Columnist Edward Hiener said that the night that Turning Point USA, Towson hosted ‘Winning the Meme Wars,’ this graffiti showed up outside of Smith Hall.
One of the biggest questions I get asked is ‘Why are you a Republican?’ The answer is simple I love capitalism, free speech, the Second Amendment, and our president.