I am writing on behalf of Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest organization of Republicans who support fairness, freedom, and equality for gay and lesbian Americans; including the 1,000,000 gays and lesbians who voted for President George W. Bush in 2000. On a personal note, I write you as a fellow Republican, fellow Catholic and fellow graduate of Catholic University. I write specifically regarding recent anti-gay tactics being employed by the Republican National Committee (RNC) and a number of GOP campaigns. While Log Cabin is busy supporting dozens of fair-minded Republican candidates for House and Senate, as well as numerous inclusive local and state candidates, and working hard to build a sustainable majority party, some in our party and at the RNC are working to knock down the Republican Big Tent. Appealing to people's anti-gay animus as a campaign strategy betrays the legacy of President Ronald Reagan who always sought to appeal to the best hopes of the American people, not their worst fears.

The RNC itself has admitted to sending mailers to voters in Arkansas and West Virginia that seek to equate the recognition of gay and lesbian families with banning the Bible. This dishonest and disgraceful mailing represents a new low in this election cycle.

On Sunday night in South Carolina, we saw another betrayal of the legacy of President Reagan. Republican Senate hopeful Jim DeMint, during a debate with his Democratic opponent Inez Tenenbaum, said that he believes gays and lesbians should be barred from teaching in the public school system. In 1977, Log Cabin was founded after Reagan courageously opposed the Briggs Initiative, which sought to ban gays and lesbians from teaching in the California public schools.

In Ohio, Secretary of State, Ken Blackwell, claims that the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign has asked him to coordinate the effort to write discrimination into the Ohio Constitution. This claim is especially troubling, considering that Blackwell is the official charged with verifying whether or not the Amendment supporters have gathered the requisite signatures to place it on the November ballot. Like so many state amendments, the proposed Ohio amendment goes much further than simply defining marriage; it specifically seeks to deny civil unions or, indeed, any domestic-partner benefits. Such an Amendment runs contrary to what the overwhelming majority of Americans believes. Such an Amendment runs contrary to President Bush's position on this issue, and is opposed by Ohio's Republican Attorney General, Jim Petro.

In North Dakota, Mike Liffrig, our party's U.S. Senate nominee, has run a dishonest and vicious anti-gay television commercial that seeks to play on anti-gay sentiment by mischaracterizing his opponent's position on the Federal Marriage Amendment. Opposing the anti-family FMA is the position embraced by Sen. John McCain, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. George Pataki, and Vice President Dick Cheney; all of whom spoke in primetime at the Republican National Convention.

In Florida, Mel Martinez used anti-gay tactics against a fellow Republican in his campaign for the GOP U.S. Senate nomination. Late in his primary race against former Congressman Bill McCollum, Martinez criticized his opponent for supporting hate-crimes legislation meant to protect gay and lesbian Americans. Martinez sent out direct mail referring to McCollum's support for hate crimes legislation as appeasing 'the radical homosexual lobby.' Former Republican Sen. Connie Mack (Florida) referred to Martinez's accusations as 'hate speech.'

In August, we wrote to you requesting that the RNC establish an outreach group for gays and lesbians. The RNC Web site lists 38 outreach groups including: Haitian Americans, Conservative Punk, Lebanese Americans, Home Schoolers, and Snowmobilers. ...

Finally, gay and lesbian Republicans watched as the Platform Committee drafted a platform that seeks to marginalize gay and lesbian families. ... Chairman Gillespie, you have an obligation as the leader of our party to stand up for the millions of fair-minded Republicans across this country that you are supposed to represent. ...

Patrick Guerriero, executive director,

Log Cabin Republicans