WASHINGTON — During the Conservative Political Action Conference ( CPAC ) this week, some media reports have suggested that Jeb Bush is the "gay-friendly republican" of the 2016 cycle — even during the same week he is scheduled to meet with anti-LGBT activist Tony Perkins.

The Human Rights Campaign's Fred Sainz released the following statement:

"At the end of the day, it isn't rhetoric or hiring practices that count, it's what a candidates stands for. A candidate who is truly committed to LGBT equality will support marriage equality and support protecting all LGBT Americans from discrimination. While the tone of Jeb Bush's language and word choice may have changed, he hasn't yet articulated different policies from when he opposed marriage equality and opposed discrimination protections as governor. There are more questions than answers on where Bush stands today."

Earlier this week, the Human Rights Campaign released a comprehensive research report on potential 2016 candidates that highlights their record on LGBT issues. The ongoing project can be found at Article Link Here . The Jeb Bush report highlights how as governor of Florida, he consistently opposed equality for LGBT Americans and can be downloaded at the link: hrc-assets.s3-website-us-east-1.amazonaws.com//files/assets/resources/GOP_Site-Bush_FINAL.pdf .