Co-founder of political campaign group GOProud says he's fed up with the 'tolerance of bigotry' in Republican party

The co-founder of a US political campaign group that represents gay conservatives announced on Tuesday that he is leaving the Republican party.

The co-founder and former executive director of GOProud, Jimmy LaSalvia said in a blog post that he changed his voter registration to “no party”, because the Republican party had “lost its way”.

Today, I joined the ranks of unaffiliated voters. I am every bit as conservative as I’ve always been, but I just can’t bring myself to carry the Republican label any longer. You see, I just don’t agree with the big-government ‘conservatives’ who run the party now. The other reason I am leaving is the tolerance of bigotry in the GOP. The current leadership lacks the courage to stand up to it – I’m not sure they ever will. I have worked hard to help to create an atmosphere on the right where conservatives can openly support gay Americans and even support same-sex marriage. In that effort, we have won, but there is more work to do to root out the anti-gay and other forms of bigotry in the party.

LaSalvia said that he is now “an independent conservative”, which he said: “sounds much better than ‘gay Republican’”.

In March 2013, LaSalvia condemned conservative attitudes toward gay rights at the annual conservative gathering, CPAC. "There are a few in our movement who just don't like gay people and in 2013 that is just not OK anymore,” said LaSalvia, whose group was not officially invited to the event.

He formed GOProud with Christopher Barron in 2009 because they felt the country’s largest gay Republican organization, the Log Cabin Republicans, had become too liberal. LaSalvia said he has not worked at GOProud for the past six months.

Jimmy LaSalvia (@JimmyLaSalvia) @minyetchik I haven't worked at GOProud for 6 months.

Following the announcement, LaSalvia further criticized the party on Twitter: