Two gay men from Iowa City claim they were ejected from a rally for Mitt Romney last week because they were gay.
On Wednesday Adam Peters posted on Facebook that he and friend Chase Gunderson had bought tickets for the event because Gunderson, though openly gay, supported the Republican candidate. (Peters classifies himself asa “independent.”) But no sooner did they arrive at Romney’s Cedar Rapids event that guards turned them away, saying Peters was a “known protestor.”
Peters posted:
“Upon arriving to the site, we got in a line and were greeted with friendly smiles,” he wrote on Facebook. “[But when] we began to head to the plane hangar where the event was taking place… two officers and one suited man… approached us and said with a smile, ‘You need to leave…
Was it because we are gay or looked too flamboyant for your rally? It’s not a surprise to me that you would treat someone this way… but it certainly came as a surprise to one of your ardent supporters. He now sees who you truly are. The guy who likes to take away rights and silence minorities.”
But Romney campaign spokesperson Andrea Saul is calling shenanigans:
How about we take this to the next level?
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“We were informed by people on the ground that this gentleman was a known protester who has caused issues at previous events,” Saul wrote in an email to U.S. News. “So [we] had him escorted off the premises to prevent any disruptions.”
While there’s no reported incidents of Peters being a agitator elsewhere, he has thrown Romeny some shade on Twitter. Peters tweeted that Ann Romney was among the “things you don’t tie to a roof of a car,” and “[Romney] licked his wounds after losing to McCain. Ew. What other nasty things is Mitt into? #binders full of women.”
2eo
Not the 1% so he doesn’t give a fuck about you.
2eo
Actually that isn’t true, he cares enough to want to undermine every single person in the country so you can be put under the jackboot of corporeligious natiolalism.
brent
The democrats complained about tea party activiists, so i would think the republicans might have the same problem with people doing the same thing.
Dumdum
I am stupid as well
Stache1
The one on the left kind of looks like Paul Ryan.
AxelDC
Why has queerty become so antigay? Even the Romney campaign did not use the word “annoying”. They claimed he was a “known protestor.” In other words, they knew he was gay so they threw him out.
Romney’s only consisten position is that he hates gays.
streeteditions
Just how much does it not bother anyone that these individuals were “profiled?” And then denied entry based on information gathered by whom for what purpose? This is very interesting if one tweet makes you a security threat. Think about it!
seaguy
Did Queerty hire someone from the Romney campaign to write this “news”? They were targeted for being gay activists from the sounds of things and to me that is discrimination and wrong. Isn’t it that you are innocent until proven guilty in America? Not under Romney that gives us a hint of things to come if this man wins. They were informed by “people on the ground” that sounds like something they would do to keep terrorists from getting close to Romney and blowing him up , not two gay white young men.
Sad that Qweerty chose to spin this pro Romney. What’s next buddying up with Fox News?
seaguy
@brent: The Democrats did not spy on tea baggers and then boot them from events based on that spying. This is over the top and a red flag of what it will be like under a Romney Regime!
scott747
I too am disturbed by the actions of the Romney campaign but less because these guys are gay (so much for gay Republican supporters but that’s another story) but I have to ask: is there some local, state or Federal law prohibiting “known protesters” from attending political events? And here I thought Republicans were all about restoring our Constitutional rights! Oh SMACK me: we all know what that really means.
Luci
One of the guys said that he went to Romney, Perry and Bachmann rally’s. No pity from me.
AdamPeters
Ahhhh… Sad that Queerty calls me annoying, but still proud to “make” your site- even in this “spun” story. USNews did not get to talk with me because they ran the story before we could chat. I’ve never protested anything in my life. I’ve never been removed from a rally before. I once asked Santorum a question at a town hall rally ( http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/12/29/santorum-marriage-prevents-poverty-unless-youre-gay/ ) that may have got the Romney people nervous I suppose… but I can’t really believe they’d remove me for that or my Twitter feed, especially since I’ve made fun of the President in tweets before as well- just not as frequent as Mittens.
I love politics- Its interesting to be a part of these rallies and see and hear both sides. There was no valid reason for me to be asked to leave and threatened to be arrested that day. And even if I was deemed a “protester”- why did they tell my friend who supports Mitt to leave as well? If we are basing things on Twitter feeds- his is full of Pro-Romney statements. Seems like the campaign needs to do their homework.
Evji108
If you are gay and want to hang out with people that hate Fags then don’t be surprised when they don’t want you at their party – you don’t really fit in and both they and you know it. Why are gay people brown-nosing the right-wingers?, do they need approval from parental/authority figures or what? It’s a mystery to me.