The Angry and Frustrated Gay Republicans

“Marriage between a man and a woman isn't something Republicans invented, but it is something Republicans will defend.”

Gay Republicans are furious at the President George W. Bush's backing of a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

"It is impossible to overstate the depth of anger and disappointment caused by the president's support for an antifamily constitutional amendment. This amendment would not only ban gay marriage, it would also jeopardize civil unions and domestic partnerships," said Chris Barron, political director of Log Cabin Republicans, a gay and lesbian Republican organization.

Gay Republicans said they want President Bush at least express support for issues like legal benefits for gay couples. They see their expectations as moderate and reasonable, yet they get little sympathy from their own party.

Gay republicans are still licking their wounds from Bush's bid earlier this year to amend the Constitutions to restrict marriage to heterosexual couples.

There were one million gay and lesbian voters who cast their ballots for President George W. Bush four years ago, according to a 2000 exit poll data.

The national board of Log Cabin Republicans called Bush "disloyal" to the 1 million gay men and lesbian women who supported his candidacy four years ago.

Today, gay Republicans who support gay rights warned President Bush that they will desert him in November if he doesn’t change course on gay rights.

Some of gay Republicans said they will drop their fund-raising efforts and no longer plan to vote for Bush. Others even said they won't vote for Bush at all.

Now the disappointed gay Republicans said they intend to fight the amendment on the platform committee and work against a second Bush term.

This will cost Bush not only the estimated 1 million gay voters—a quarter of the gay vote—who supported him in 2000, but like-minded swing voters too.