June 26, 2008
Posted: 10:25 AM ET

From
Sen. John McCain has voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage.
Sen. John McCain has voiced his opposition to same-sex marriage.

WASHINGTON (CNN) –- An official from the Log Cabin Republicans organization says the group representing gay Republicans has had a series of meetings with presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain.

The meetings, however, were not disclosed to the press by the McCain campaign. An e-mail from CNN to the McCain campaign for comment was not immediately returned.

A McCain aide told The Politico's Ben Smith that a meeting between McCain and the organization "a few weeks ago" was "scheduled as a meeting with the senator … Like Sen. Obama, every single campaign-related meeting he has isn't alerted to the press."

In a statement Thursday, Log Cab Republicans President Patrick Sammon confirmed to CNN that the group had a "series of productive meetings with the campaign since Sen. McCain won the nomination—including a recent meeting with the Senator. We expect to have more conversations with the campaign as we head toward November."

While they have yet to endorse McCain, the organization's Web site says they are “encouraged” that he has won the party’s nod.

“Sen. McCain has had a long relationship with Log Cabin Republicans dating back to the opening of our organization’s national office in the mid 1990s."

The LCR endorsed McCain’s Senate reelection bid in 2004.

The national board of directors “will soon decide whether to endorse Sen. McCain's presidential bid.”

But the organization's stance on California's May 15 ruling allowing same-sex marriages could create a division with the Arizona senator’s stance on the hot-button issue.

McCain supports definition of marriage as a union between a man and a woman, but opposes a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, and says individual states should decide the issue.

He also says a federal ban might be appropriate if courts overturned state marriage laws, but supports legal benefits for same-sex partners.

The meetings also come in the wake of a state senate ruling in Arizona, McCain’s home state, pulling a same-sex marriage referendum off the November ballot there.

In a 14-11 decision, the state senate vetoed the referendum, which could come back for a revote, according to the Arizona Republic newspaper.

The Log Cabin Republicans has state and local chapters throughout the U.S. — including a federal political action committee. The name of the organization is a reference to the nation's first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a Log Cabin, according to the organization.

Filed under: John McCain • Log Cabin Republicans


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