Why This Gay Republican Isn't Fazed By GOP's Anti-Queer Platform

Both Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and his running mate Mike Pence have expressed rigidly conservative views on the LGBT community, but that hasn’t stopped a number of queer people from inexplicably backing those candidates.

Colton L. Buckley, who hails from Texas, is one such delegate. In a Slate video interview, Buckley explained why he believes more LGBT people should be duped into voting for support the GOP candidates, even if it’s clear that doing so would be against their own personal interests.

In the interview, Buckley, who came out following the June 12 mass shooting in Orlando, Florida that targeted the LGBT community, likened being openly gay in the Republican party to being an “African-American in the 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.” Still, he said he’s received a lot of support from his fellow Republicans.

“We need to have a better perspective and a broader party to open that tent door and let folks like us in,” he said. “It’s a long haul, and we’ll continue that march.”

Describing himself as “fiscally conservative, socially awesome,” Buckley said he does not support same-sex marriage. He also isn’t concerned about whether or not his sexuality conflicts with his Baptist faith, noting, “That is between me and Jesus Christ.”

Eh, still not convinced, Colton.

Editor’s note: Donald Trump regularly incites political violence and is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist and birther who has repeatedly pledged to ban all Muslims ― 1.6 billion members of an entire religion ― from entering the U.S.