Gay
marriage
will
likely
be
on
the
agenda
when
U.S.
Sen.
Johnny
Isakson
(R-Ga.)
speaks
to
the
Georgia
Log
Cabin
Republicans
next
week.
Officials
with
the
gay
GOP
group
said
they
expect
Isakson,
elected
in
November,
to
discuss
his
support
of
a
proposed
federal
constitutional
amendment
to
define
marriage
as
only
between
a
man
and
woman
during
an
appearance
at
the
Feb.
22
meeting.
Isakson
is
one
of
more
than
two
dozen
senators
co-sponsoring
the
new
federal
bill
to
ban
gay
marriage.
As
a
member
of
the
U.S.
House
of
Representatives,
Isakson
served
as
a
co-sponsor
of
a
similar
bill
that
failed
in
both
the
House
and
Senate
last
year.
Log
Cabin
Republicans
has
spoken
out
vigorously
against
the
amendment
at
the
national
level,
and
last
year
refused
to
endorse
President
George
W.
Bush
for
re-election
over
his
support
of
the
legislation.
The
decision
by
Log
Cabin’s
25-member
national
board
to
not
endorse
Bush
marked
the
first
time
since
1993
that
the
group
did
not
endorse
the
Republican
presidential
nominee.
Isakson
“will
be
speaking
about
what
is
going
on
in
Congress,
such
as
Social
Security
and
certainly
the
marriage
amendment.
And
I
certainly
anticipate
a
Q&A
session,”
said
Georgia
LCR
President
Mansell
McCord.
Repeated
calls
to
Isakson’s
Senate
office
in
Washington,
D.C.,
were
not
returned.
McCord
declined
comment
on
Isakson’s
support
of
what
is
now
titled
the
Marriage
Protection
Act.
But
Isakson
remains
a
friend
of
Georgia
Log
Cabin
Republicans,
McCord
said.
“This
will
be
the
fourth
time
he
has
spoken
to
the
Georgia
LCR,
which
makes
him
the
most
frequent
speaker
in
our
10
year
history,”
he
said.
Isakson’s
first
appearance
before
the
Georgia
Log
Cabin
Republicans
occurred
while
he
served
as
chair
of
the
Georgia
Board
of
Education.
Isakson
was
appointed
by
then-Gov.
Zell
Miller
to
that
post
in
1996,
serving
until
he
was
elected
to
Congress
in
1999.
The
last
time
Isakson
addressed
the
gay
organization
was
about
two
years
ago,
while
he
served
in
Congress,
McCord
said.
Isakson
is
only
the
second
sitting
U.S.
senator
to
speak
to
the
gay
Republican
organization,
McCord
added.
The
first
was
Republican
Sen.
Paul
Coverdell.
Isakson
joined
the
U.S.
House
in
1999,
when
he
was
elected
during
a
special
election
to
replace
Newt
Gingrich.
Last
year,
he
handily
defeated
Democrat
Denise
Majette
for
retiring
Democrat
Zell
Miller’s
seat
in
the
U.S.
Senate.
For
the
first
time
in
recent
history,
two
Republican
senators
—
Isakson
and
Saxby
Chambliss
—
now
represent
Georgia
in
Congress.
In
the
House,
Isakson
was
one
of
more
than
30
co-sponsors
of
the
Federal
Marriage
Amendment,
a
2004
effort
to
alter
the
U.S.
Constitution
to
define
marriage
as
solely
between
a
man
and
woman.
The
measure
failed
in
both
chambers,
but
has
been
reintroduced
this
year
as
the
Marriage
Protection
Act.
Isakson
signed
on
as
a
co-sponsor
of
the
new
effort
on
Jan.
24,
joining
25
other
senators.
Isakson
earned
the
label
of
a
moderate
Republican
while
serving
in
the
House,
mostly
due
to
his
stance
in
favor
of
allowing
abortion
in
instances
of
rape
and
incest,
as
well
as
his
willingness
to
work
with
Democrats.
LCR’s
McCord
said
he
disagrees
with
some
political
pundits
who
have
accused
Isakson
of
growing
more
conservative
since
his
Senate
bid,
adding
he
believes
Isakson
is
a
better
senator
than
Zell
Miller,
who
spoke
out
vehemently
against
gay
marriage
and
other
social
issues
during
his
final
months
in
office.
“I
recently
heard
a
commentator
say
that
Sen.
Isakson
is
the
only
freshman
senator
is
who
is
less
conservative
than
the
senator
he
replaced,”
McCord
said.
Georgia
Log
Cabin
Republicans
did
not
endorse
Isakson
in
the
Senate
race
as
members
wanted
to
focus
on
local
races
where
their
efforts
could
have
more
impact,
McCord
said.
