Former D.C. Log Cabin head leaves group over Trump endorsement

Robert Turner, the former president of the D.C. chapter of the national LGBT group Log Cabin Republicans, announced in a Facebook message on Aug. 15 that he has withdrawn his membership in the organization after it announced in an op-ed column in the Washington Post that it endorsed President Donald Trump for re-election in 2020.

“It saddens me greatly to say that today, I am ending my association with Log Cabin Republicans, an organization I’ve been heavily involved with for the last decade–including serving as president of the D.C. chapter for three years,” Turner said in his Facebook post.

Turner told the Washington Blade that under Log Cabin’s rules, when someone joins one of its chapters they automatically become a member of the national organization.

“There are many great people still involved with the organization and I hope they press on,” Turner said in his Facebook statement. “From Adam [Savit], the current D.C. chapter president, to Jerri Ann [Henry], the national executive director, who can’t seem to get anything accomplished because of a board of directors who won’t get out of her way,” said Turner in his posting.

He may have been referring to an action viewed as odd by those familiar with Log Cabin that the announcement of its endorsement of Trump included the names of the group’s two board co-chairs but did not include the name of Henry, Log Cabin’s president and CEO.

“But for me,” Turner continued, “there’s no more fight left. The national board’s endorsement of Trump, and their subsequent and hollow WaPo op-ed, is a step too far. And this leaves me sad.”

National Log Cabin board co-chairs Robert Kabel and Jill Holman, who wrote the Washington Post op-ed column announcing the Trump endorsement, state in the op-ed that despite some actions by the president with which Log Cabin disagrees, such as the decision to ban transgender people from the U.S. military, the group believes the Trump administration has been supportive on LGBT rights in many areas, including an initiative to end criminalization of homosexuality in foreign countries.

“Thanks for your service to the org and I understand your decision,” Savit said in a comment under Turner’s Facebook posting.

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