Log cabin republicans who were founded in 1870. Aboutnterview best for one hour. Who would a lot kevin republicans . They were conservatives who advocate for lgbtq quality. The formed a convention in 1980 but they also organized in the 1970s. They are a relatively small group. I think they are important for two reasons. The first is because as gay republicans they face a lot of challenges over the years. They have been working for almost 40 years. See gay rights and conservatives as mutually reinforcing. Without that rise of the conservative movement in the 60s. And the gayrights movement which is something fundamentally new. They are a educational foundation, they do believe in a twopart strategy. Voters are only democrats, they feel that they will take advantage of them and ignore them. The Republican Party will do away altogether. Very hard to convince Republican Voters and policymakers to support lgbt quality equality. They do a lot of work behind the scenes. One of the things i have learned oftenthem is that they in theposition that is Republican Party. There is a lot that comes behind the scenes. What has been some of their success . As you may guess they face a lot of challenges. It is worth noting that there is a way for them to be sympathetic. Most recently last year john and supportedt samesex marriage and did not want to overturn the courtroom findings on that. Success came early on in the early 80s specifically in california. He is still active but he was active more and the 70s. He has told me a story about the police chief of los angeles. Bars andclosed gay there were this crackdown. Beloved him to support a gayrights bill that later was vetoed. Full circle based on the conversation. What are some of the hurdles they face. At the turn of the 20th century they had about 13,000 members. That is more than the entire national organization. Will are candidates who butsomething and support they will choose the religious right first. The california log cabin republicans told me how painful it was for it to take over the Party Machinery and excel from that they have been on the outside of the state and National Party looking in. Of a were but democratic advocates . They do sometimes they have a complicated relationship with the democrats. Specifically with a lot of aids issues in the 80s and fundraisers. With gayrights and conservatism , intertwined as the same. He is in favor of equal rights. He is a wartime president. They also talk about his staunch individualism. With being a gay person that also a conservative. They go to conferences, if they are invited. They focus on letterwriting campaigns, a lot of them run for office. Are prettily in gay districts. That is way they reach out to people. Out as a Strategy Change over time . Been pretty consistent. They went up with the gop because they want to demonstrate that they are loyal to Republican Voters. And that they can see them as part of the team. At leastse to endorse a republican candidates including donald trump. Do they still exist . Absolutely. Has their membership and growing or shrinking over time . Something that is interesting. A survey found that one out of five gave voters actually has conservative or very conservative views. Time the late 70s every there is a surge in homophobic there is as activism influx of new members who want to push spec and rescue the gop from homophobia. Over time, they tend to get frustrated with the aids crisis and then they tend to drop out. They have 26 chapters among the states. Placese historically and that have sizable all jvc populations. San francisco, los angeles, dallas did they tend to do well friendly andt are have conservative politics. The biggest is in southern california. Thisat led you to research . Good question, a number of issues. The first that there has been this ongoing debate for a long time. They are looking to see how they can reach out to other gay voters. That is something that came up in the 2016 election. With women conservatives and africanamerican conservatives that shows this intersection ofween the rights conservatism and feminism. Immediate thing is i went to college with the current executive director of the log cabin republicans. He is my facebook friend. As i was reading these things he was posting information on people were asking about the local history. How do you conduct this research . One of the things that makes it easy or easier. Recent, it is in the last 40 years. A lot of people are still around. There is a fair number of history of those who worked in the early club. Their records were donated to oneuniversity of minnesota of the things i noticed is that every magazine is it article about how there can be gay republicans. There is a Human Interest story ut gay republicans you other anyways that they are similar or different from other political activist groups . And they have a lot of comment with other groups that believe in education. They arehat fundamentally different because they are gay conservatives. It is a limit does not usually go together. They actually combine in very interesting ways. Thank you for speaking with us. Interested in American History tv . Visit our website cspan. Org American History. You can view our schedule, preview upcoming programs and watch previous films. All that on our website. Up nexen American History tv antique furnishing curator talks about early 20th century appliances. He also discusses different ways manufacturers distributed new products to consumers for healthwise. We hosted this 40 minute event. I am going to introduce the speaker today. Interiors for the daughters of the american revolution. He is responsible for furniture, glass, technology, rare books and others. He has a master of arts in Museum Studies from washington university. He is a net i recognize historian. Has please help me welcome him