Although polls show the majority of Americans support marriage equality, some Republicans are pushing anti-LGBTQ legislation forward. The push is causing a rift in the party as midterm elections approach, and some GOP members worry about turning moderate voters away.
Annie Linskey, a Washington Post White House reporter, told Jim Braude on Greater Boston that Republicans are worried about public opinion and how their party was largely left out of the marraige equality debate.
New bills such as Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation, which limits in-school discussions about sexual orientation, has also created controversy in recent weeks.
"There have been some strategists that I've talked to who said that it's an effort to drive a wedge between various factions within the LGBT community that, you know, provides an ability for more conservative, gay voters to separate themselves from a lot of the larger community," Linskey said.
She added that there are many Republicans who support gay rights and were caught unprepared by some of the anti-LGBTQ legislation within the party.
"They had not planned on, you know, ramping up their analysis of state legislation because... Republican groups did not see this wave coming, but it certainly is coming," Linksey said.
Watch: Republicans divided over anti-LGBTQ legislation
