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Updated Monday, 2:00 p.m. PST
The Romney campaign has responded to reports that two gay independent voters, Adam Peters and Chase Gunderson, were escorted from a Romney campaign event in Iowa because they were perceived to be gay.
See what the campaign had to say after the jump!
U.S. News & World Report's "Washington Whispers" writes:
"Andrea Saul, a spokeswoman for the Romney campaign, says there is more going on here than meets the eye.
'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 E-mail to Whispers. 'So [we] had him escorted off the premises to prevent any disruptions.'
Whispers was not able to find any previous incidents in which Peters disrupted a political rally. And neither Peters nor Gunderson responded to request for comment."
So what do you think, Instincters? It appears there's no evidence of Peters previously disrupting a Romney campaign event, though he's been pretty vitriolic against the GOP nominee on his Twitter feed.
Are you buying that they recognized him from previous campaign events or were these two guys just perceived to be too fabulous for a Romney event?
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Original Post
Two young gay Iowans were the only people (out of thousands!) reportedly asked to immediately leave Mitt Romney's recent Cedar Rapids appearance. The guys believe they were kicked out ahead of the event because Romney's team quickly pegged them as gay and flamboyant.
Details follow.
The story, as told by one of the guys involved:
Hi. I'm Adam. And this is my friend Chase. I'm an Independent who supports Barack Obama for President. Chase is an Independent who has long supported Mitt Romney for President of the United States since 2007. Today, the two of us decided to attend the Mitt Romney rally at Landmark Aviation in Cedar Rapids.
We parked in a lot 4 miles away from the event site where all those attending were then shuttled to the actual site. Upon arriving to the site, we got in a line and were greeted with friendly smiles... We then had our tickets swiped, went through security, and then both went to the restrooms before heading in to the building to stand and await the speech. I was the first to exit the restroom and stood to wait for Chase. As soon as he exited we began to head to the plane hangar where the event was taking place.
Two officers and one suited man (secret service) then approached us and said with a smile, "You need to leave." My first thought was that we were getting in the way of an important Congressman coming through, or even the candidate himself... so we walked a bit to the side. He then repeated that we needed to head to the exit and leave. They began to grow tighter around us. I said, "Excuse me?" He repeated again, "You need to leave." Chase than said, "I'm confused, I'm a supporter of Mitt Romney... we have tickets?" ... Another officer chimed in, "You need to leave."
I then asked, "Why?" ... "What is the reason?" The officer then said, "You either need to leave now or we will be forced to arrest you." ... "BUT WHY?" ... "Head to the front now."
... No one else was asked to leave. Just us.
We left. Got back on a bus alone. And drove back to Iowa City.
I'm in a state of utter confusion. I've been to so many Republican rallies in the last 5 years. I've always been courteous. I've never heckled. Besides some speeding tickets, I'm a law abiding citizen. I've greeted Mitt Romney in Muscatine and had my picture taken with him as well as with Santorum, Perry, Bachmann, Ron Paul, John McCain, etc. I attended a Santorum rally in which anyone could ask a question... I did... it had to do with gay marriage... he answered it live on CNN. I met him afterwards where he instantly recognized who I was and thanked me for coming to the event.
Mr. Romney- I may not support you... but my friend HAS and DID for the last 5 years... yet, we weren't allowed to attend? Why? Answer me that. WHY? Was it because we are gay or looked too flamboyant for your rally? What is it? Its 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.
I'm baffled. I'm embarrassed. I'm sad. Can anyone enlighten me?
Please SHARE this. This may be minuscule to you... but it shows a story to a bigger picture of who this man really is.
I just want to know WHY?
The guys believe they were quickly told to leave because of their sexuality. What do you think, Instincters?
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