EXCLUSIVE — Log Cabin Republicans are urging the Senate to reject President Joe Biden’s Federal Communications Commission commissioner nominee, Gigi Sohn, and to ignore claims from the Left that opposition to the Democrat is motivated by homophobia.
In a letter sent to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and ranking member Ted Cruz (R-TX), Log Cabin Republicans President Charles Moran said GOP calls to reject the nominee are founded by her record and policy positions, not her sexual orientation.
“Log Cabin Republicans, on behalf of more than 3,000,000 LGBT Republicans, conservatives, and independents, write to express our deep concerns regarding the nomination of Gigi Sohn as Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Commissioner. Since her initial nomination in 2021, it has become increasingly clear that Ms. Sohn’s partisan comments, alarming views on censorship, and questionable ethical judgment are incompatible with the cardinal principles and responsibilities of the FCC,” Moran wrote.
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“While we acknowledge the historic nature of Ms. Sohn’s nomination,” he continued, “we also recognize that simply being LGBT is not a qualification and to suggest otherwise would be an insult to the qualified and capable LGBT people in various industries across the country. Moreover, Sohn’s proponents do an incredible disservice to her and to the LGBT community when they accuse senators, who are raising completely legitimate concerns about her record, of ‘homophobia’ and ‘bigotry.’”
Sohn’s confirmation hearing is slated to take place on Tuesday. She would become the fifth commissioner and give Democrats a majority at the FCC. If confirmed, Sohn would become the first LGBT commissioner.
Moran argued LGBT nominees should be judged “fairly measured on our merits, not our sexuality,” adding that he believes Sohn’s views on certain policies could hinder free speech and be detrimental to “competition in the broadband market.”
“Indeed, far more consequential than Ms. Sohn’s sexuality is her track record,” he wrote.
The letter comes in the wake of 22 LGBT advocacy organizations recently sending a letter to Senate leadership calling for them to swiftly confirm Sohn, accusing her critics of promoting “homophobic tropes and attacks” after right-leaning websites looked to link her work at a digital rights group to sex trafficking.
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Moran told the Washington Examiner that the Log Cabin Republicans felt the need to speak out after the accusations of homophobia emerged, adding that the group’s mission is protecting free speech.
“Freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of expression, that’s the core of who we are as an organization, which is really why wanted to jump in on this and really push back on this notion that she was being unduly attacked for her for being a lesbian, and that’s the farthest thing from the truth,” he said in an interview. “So we really wanted to make sure that we drew that line in the sand to let people know that criticism of state and public policy perspective, that’s not homophobic. That’s who she is.”
