A Fundamental Freedom: Why Republicans, Conservatives, and Libertarians Should Support Gay Rights

It is an axiom of modern American politics that many Republicans and most conservatives are not only anti-gay but that they have capitulated to an anti-gay agenda formulated and pursued by the religious right for the past several decades. In A Fundamental Freedom, David Lampo makes the case that support for gay rights will provide long-term political benefits for the GOP and the conservative movement. He argues that an anti-gay agenda succinctly exposes the hypocrisy of those who talk of limited government and individual rights but ignore both when it comes to gay rights and other personal freedom issues. Indeed, it is the defenders of gay rights within Republican ranks who are keeping faith with core conservative principles. He also presents a variety of polling data that show that rank-and-file Republicans, including many Tea Party supporters, are far more supportive of gay rights than commonly presumed. Lampo’s call to embrace gay rights is sure to be hotly debated within the conservative movement.