On Thursday, April 23, an openly gay hotel owner remarked on his Facebook page that he had accepted the opportunity to speak with GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz about LGBT issues.
Only a few hours passed before militant gays began to attack the man for daring to even speak to Cruz. Now, a day later, a gay organization has actually canceled a charity event at the hotel over the conversation.
On his Facebook page, Hotelier Ian Reisner noted that he had a “candid conversation” about LGBT issues with Senator Cruz. While Reisner averred that he “strongly” disagrees with Cruz on those issues, he went on to sensibly and civilly say, “having an open dialogue with those who have differing political opinions is a part of what this country was founded on.”
Despite Reisner’s paean to the American way, his gay clientele firmly disagreed with his desire for dialog and their hate and invective began to fill the comments section of the Facebook post. They were incensed over the fact that the hotelier dared have a mere conversation with Cruz.
Further proving that many in the gay community refuse to even have a simple conversation with conservatives and Republicans, a gay group has now canceled a charity event because Reisner met with Senator Cruz.
On Friday, Tom Viola, Executive Director of the group Broadway Cares, a gay non-profit group that raises money to fight AIDS, announced that his organization was canceling a charity event that was scheduled to be held in Reisner’s hotel.
After hiding behind the claim that his group is proud of its “rich diversity,” Viola went on to claim in his statement that Reisner’s actions “negatively impacts us as an organization and potentially jeopardizes our relationship with others.”
“This is not about partisan politics or punishment,” Viola claimed, despite the fact that he is canceling his event merely because Reisner talked to a Republican.
In the end, for this gay group, at least, it appears that merely having a conversation with a perceived enemy can put an end to charity.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
