Random Anti-Gay Politicians with LGBTQ+ Relatives (12 items)

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  (#12) Sonny Bono

  • Dec. at 63 (1935-1998)

  Stance on LGBT Rights:
  A Republican congressman from Palm Springs, California, Bono told members of the House Judiciary Committee in 1996 that he's not homophobic, but he couldn't handle the idea of homosexuality. Strange considering a year earlier, his daughter came out of the closet.

  Gay relative:
  Bono's daughter Chastity, now known as Chaz after a sex change operation, is one of the most famous champions for LGBT rights.

  He's written two books about the process of coming out to friends and family members with Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians, and Their Families (1998) and The End of Innocence (2003). After transitioning to a male in 2010, Chaz was the subject of a documentary Becoming Chaz that followed him while he underwent the process of a sex change.
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  (#9) Phyllis Schlafly

  • 94

  Stance on LGBT Rights:
  A conservative Republican activist, Schalfly has been quoted as saying that LGBT rights violate free speech and that feminism is "the most destructive element in our society." She also claims the LGBT agenda has infiltrated schools and is being taught as part of the curriculum.

  She is opposed to the Equal Rights Amendment and is said to be "deeply offended" and "personally insulted" when the Defense of Marriage Act was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.

  Gay Relative:
  Schalfly's son, John, is openly gay. Despite his mother's controversial stance, John has openly defended Phyllis's view about family movement. John was quoted as saying that "the family values movement isn't anti-gay" and is remains a Republican in spite of their views towards the LGBT community. 
• 

  (#5) Newt Gingrich

  • 75

  Stance on LGBT Rights:
  The former Republican Speaker of the House has long been opposed to LGBT rights. He claims the fight over LGBT rights is one-sided because they undermine Catholic rights. He's also said gay people choose to be gay and aren't born gay.

  Recently, Gingrich changed his tune, saying that Republicans need to reconsider their position on same-sex marriage due to shifts in the way that the issue perceived by public opinion. 

  Gay Relative:
  Candice Gingrich-Jones, Newt's younger sister by several decades, is a lesbian. She is a LGBT rights activist and holds a leadership position in the Human Rights Campaign.

  In 2011, she was honored by the American Humanist Association, receiving the LGBT Humanist Pride Award. Just in case you were wondering, she didn't support her brother's 2012 campaign; she endorsed Barack Obama.

  After Newt gave an interview in 2013 saying that conservatives need to reconsider their position on same-sex marriage, Candice praised his evolving opinion on LGBT issues, hoping that the rest of the GOP follows his lead and thinks progressively on LGBT issues.
• 

  (#3) Karl Rove

  • 68

  Stance on LGBT Rights:
  Rove used anti-gay marriage amendments to turn out conservatives in 2004, particularly in Ohio. Though he now says he never asked for an anti-gay fight, his strategy to get conservatives to vote may have worked short-term, but ultimately it has harmed the GOP brand with younger voters.

  Gay Relative:
  Rove's stepfather, Louis, was gay. Rove's parents divorced when Louis, whom he considered to be his father (Rove's biological father left when he was a small child) came out when Karl was a senior in high school. According to an interview with Wayne Slater and James Moore, Rove told them that he "lovingly accepted his father as a gay man," and treated Louis with respect. Every other homosexual in the country? Not so much.
• 

  (#4) Christine O'Donnell

  Stance on LGBT Rights: The former Delaware Republican senatorial candidate has a long history of taking hateful and ignorant positions against LGBT people. Originally a liberal, O'Donnell claims to have experienced an epiphany when she was 21 that completely changed her viewpoints.

  She's accused gays of having a personality disorder and has called homosexuality a "deviant sexual orientation." She considers homosexuality a disease (an "identity disorder") and associates herself with people who try to cure homosexuality.

  Gay relative:
  With her outrageous views on homosexuality, people will be surprised to learn that O'Donnell's sister, Jennie O'Donnell, is a lesbian. She lives in the LGBT hub of West Hollywood, California.

  Despite her sister's strong anti-gay views, Jennie defended her sister publicly. Using the old adage that blood is thicker than politics, Jennie even campaigned for her sister during her ill-fated 2010 senatorial campaign. She was quoted as saying that Christine was misunderstood.
• 

  (#6) Dick Cheney

  • 78

  Stance on LGBT Rights:
  The former Vice President was part of the Republican national ticket that disparaged gay rights during the 2004 election and throughout their two-terms in office. 

  While he didn't publicly oppose LGBT rights, he stood by, as the Vice President of the United States, while the administration tried to obliterate the rights of his daughter's community.

  This proved to be merely a strategic move to get evangelical voters in battleground states out to vote, though. In recent years, Cheney changed his stance and now openly supports LGBT rights. It's great to see somebody hop the fence in that way, but he makes this list because in his eight years as one of the most powerful men in the world, he stood by and did nothing. 

  Gay relative: 
  Cheney's daughter, Mary Cheney, is an openly lesbian woman. She married her longtime partner, Heather Poe, in 2012.  Mary Cheney has been cited as one of the reasons her conservative father changed his stance on gay marriage... eventually. 

  In 2013, she was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage aka the California Prop 8 case. 

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