GOProud, conservative gay group, endorses Romney

Mitt Romney received an endorsement from GOProud, a gay conservative group, on Tuesday night, when the organization's board of director's voted to support the presumptive Republican nominee.

This is the first endorsement for Romney by a group representing gay Americans. The group cited his economic positions as a reason for their support, but it also noted its disagreement with the candidate on the issue of gay marriage, CBS News reported.

"Most gay Americans, like their straight counterparts, are not better off than they were four years ago," said Jimmy LaSalvia, GOProud executive director, in a statement. "The truth is that gay people are living in the disastrous, failed Obama economy too."

In the statement, the group explained that they chose to support Romney despite his support for an amendment to the US constitution that would limit marriage to a union between one man and one woman.

“For far too long, the gay left in this country has been allowed to dictate what they believe qualify as ‘gay issues,’” LaSalvia said. “We think that jobs, the economy, healthcare, retirement security and taxes are all ‘gay issues,’ and on every single one of those issues, Mitt Romney is light years better than President Obama.”

GOProud spokesman Christopher Barron said the Romney campaign was pleased to learn of his organization's support, the Advocate reported.

GOProud's statement did not mention Richard Grenell, the openly gay national security spokesman who resigned from the Romney campaign in May following an outcry from religious conservatives led by the American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer.

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