Log Cabin Republicans

Log Cabin Republicans is the largest organization representing LGBTQ conservatives and allies inside the Republican Party. Its roots trace to the late 1970s in California, where gay Republicans organized to help defeat the 1978 Briggs Initiative, a ballot measure that would have barred gay and lesbian people from teaching in public schools. The national federation was established in 1993. The group argues that conservative and libertarian principles are compatible with full LGBTQ inclusion, and it has often clashed with both the party's social conservatives and with LGBTQ advocacy groups skeptical of its influence. The name honors Abraham Lincoln, the first Republican president, born in a log cabin, and the party's founding language of liberty and equality.