CLEVELAND _ Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel made history Thursday night when he said he was gay from the podium of the Republican National Convention.
"Every American has a unique identity. I am proud to be gay. I am proud to be a Republican. But most of all I am proud to be an American," said Thiel, to cheers and applause.
Openly gay men previously spoke at the 1996 and 2000 conventions but did not mention their sexuality.
The Republican Party has become more open to the gay community. The party platform approved on Monday, however, continues to oppose same-sex marriage, backs legislation to allow businesses to deny services based on religious objections to gay unions, provides support for conversion therapy and says that the use of public restrooms should be restricted based on a person's gender at birth _ all stands opposed by majorities among gay, lesbian and transgender Americans.
Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and a Trump delegate, acknowledged the controversy.
"I don't pretend to agree with every plank in our party's platform. But fake culture wars only distract us from our economic decline," he said. "And nobody in this race is being honest about it except Donald Trump."
The California GOP, which recently voted to allow a gay Republican group to be an official chartered organization, put its three gay delegates in the front row for Thiel's prime-time speech.
"I've been to seven conventions, and this is by far the best for LGBT Americans. While there still is work left to do, we are making fast progress now," said Richard Grenell, one of the gay delegates and a former spokesman for the United Nations under President George W. Bush.
