eva young
Eva Young is President of Log Cabin Republicans of Minnesota and lives in Minneapolis with her cat, Kiddleleewink. You can also read her other blog here.
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April 15, 2005

So far, his Republican colleagues have been supportive. No comment from the hysterically anti-gay Senator Michele Bachmann.

After the brief legislative session, during which the first-term senator was nearly constantly the object of warm greetings, Koering joked: "Everybody loves me."

"If you liked Paul Koering on Wednesday, you should like Paul Koering on Thursday. Nothing has changed," he told a swarm of reporters and television photographers earlier.

His colleagues concurred.

"He is the same Sen. Koering he was yesterday," said Sen. Michelle Fischbach, R-Paynesville.

"The Paul Koering I know is a large teddy bear with a very big heart and he will always be the same," said Sen. Mady Reiter, R-Shoreview. Reiter said she didn't think any Senator's opinion would change simply because Koering talked about his sexual orientation to the news media.

Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna, said Senate Republicans have long known Koering is gay and his caucus' support wouldn't evaporate.

"The reaction in his district is the most important part of this deal," said Day, who added that he hoped the Republican Party will not change its backing for Koering.

Koering said today he will run for re-election next year as a Republican.

"I feel like the Republican Party is big tent, and that there is a home for me in the Republican Party," said Koering. "I'm going to run, and I'm going to run damn hard."

The Party Chair in Crow Wing County isn't pleased, and calls for Koering's resignation.

Brian D. Lehman, Crow Wing County Republican Party chair, said Wednesday a lot of Crow Wing County residents are "very unhappy" with Sen. Paul Koering's break with the GOP on the Defense of Marriage Act and predicted his sexual orientation could cause political problems if it causes Koering to "vote the wrong way."

Koering, a first-term Republican senator from Fort Ripley, announced Wednesday he was gay. He voted no last week on a procedural motion that would have forced a floor vote on the Senate on the subject of same-sex marriage.

Lehman said it's too early to predict Koering's chances of gaining the Republican endorsement for another term.

"If his personal preference for the homosexual lifestyle sways his vote incorrectly and against the Republican Party platform, then I would take issue with that and I would think other people on the (county) executive committee might take issue with that and citizens in Crow Wing County and District 12," Lehman said.

The county chair said the Defense of Marriage Act was a top priority of the Republican Party and Koering would be advised to follow the Republican platform.

"We need him to be for DOMA," Lehman said.

Koering did the right thing and voted against putting the anti-gay amendment to the floor of the Senate. If people want to write him and thank him, he can be reached at: senator.paul.koering@senate.mn.

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