History

Triangle Log Cabin Republicans was founded in August 2004 in Raleigh. In the summer of 2004, a group of gay conservatives from the Triangle went to the Republican party state convention in Greensboro, attempting to participate and integrate themselves into the party. They were turned away from the convention and wanted to find some way to get involved in conservative politics. One of them contacted the National Office of Log Cabin Republicans, and Jeff Cook, the national field director, came to meet with the group and encouraged them to build their group and start a Log Cabin chapter here in North Carolina.

The initial gatherings that summer were parties called "PC" or Political Cocktails. Through PC, a core group emerged who would take on the challenges of scheduling meetings, going through the incorporation process with the state of North Carolina, applications for tax exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, opening a bank account, and filing By-Laws with Log Cabin Republicans national office in Washington, DC. After some fundraising efforts, the group was able to raise the initial charter fee and was granted a provisional charter from Log Cabin in December 2004. Final full charter status for the Triangle chapter was announced at the Log Cabin Republicans National Convention in March 2005.

Some Formalities

The minutes of our meetings are available to members logged into this site here.

Our By-Laws are publicly available here.

The state of North Carolina and the Internal Revenue Service require that Triangle Log Cabin Republicans make some organizational documents public.  To see those, please email your request to triangle@logcabin.org.

Meet our officers

A Peek Into The Triangle

The perception of North Carolina from outside is typically one filled with rednecks, pickup trucks touting Confederate flags, and mobile home parks—not necessarily a gay friendly place to live. While all these stereotypes and more are plentiful here, the reality of what North Carolina, and the Triangle region in particular, is all about is quite different. Charlotte, in the western part of the state, is a major business center of the South, while Raleigh is the political capitol.

The name "Triangle" refers to a region roughly defined by the cities of Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, and includes several smaller municipalities within that region. Cary, Carrboro, Morrisville, Apex, Holly Springs, Wake Forest and Pittsboro are some of these other cities and towns that make up the Triangle. The point cities of the Triangle, Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, have been locked in rivalries like siblings since they were founded, particularly in regards to the institutions of higher learning contained in each. Raleigh has North Carolina State University (NCSU or "State") which has strong programs in agriculture and liberal arts, Durham has Duke University and it's renowned medical center and medical school, and Chapel Hill is the home to the University of North Carolina (UNC or "Carolina") which is strong in legal and professional studies. The Wolf Pack (NCSU), Blue Devils (Duke) and Tar Heels (UNC) sports teams all have strong local, regional and national followings, and tend to be the subject of discussions at all manner of local gatherings year round. Flags and stickers of red (NCSU), dark blue (Duke) or light blue (UNC) fly proudly over the front porches of homes and emblazon vehicles all over the area. There are many other colleges and universities in the area, like North Carolina Central University in Durham (which was originally founded for minority students) and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, but none invoke the emotion among their alumni like NCSU, Duke and UNC. To an outsider who hasn't chosen a side (or for that matter, doesn't particularly care for sports,) the passionate displays for one's alma mater are touching, if not just cute.

While the area is still undeveloped enough to provide some wooded areas in the distance between the three cities, the Triangle is by no means a 19th century tobacco capital, backwoods area left behind by progress. Tucked neatly between the three towns—and to a great degree, bridging them together—is the Research Triangle Park (RTP.) This 7,000 acre development was started back in the 1950s as a way to leverage the area's vast business, academic and industry resources. RTP houses campuses of some of America's leading businesses and industrial giants, including Eli Lilly, DuPont, Cisco Systems, Ericsson, GlaxoSmithKline and Underwriter Laboratories, among many others. Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) serves over 8 million passengers a year.

Given the strong presence of leftward-tending academics and highly educated professionals in the area, it might seem that the politics of the area would be more liberal leaning, but being southern and part of the "Bible belt," conservatives are plentiful, and the North Carolina General Assembly is fairly well mixed. The grassroots populace tends to be southern gentlefolk, polite and aware of their "sinner-saved-by-faith" status, but fair in their considerations and interactions with others.

The gay community tends to be tight knit with friends and acquaintances often having deep roots and histories. Nightlife in the Triangle is centered around several blocks in downtown Raleigh where several of the area bars are located. Legends is a dance club, popular with younger people (and those who pursue them.) The Capitol Corral (or CC) is across the street, and has more of a neighborhood bar feel to it. Flex, just a short walk from Legends and CC, is located in the basement of a storefront, and is a popular alternative to the more mainstream clubs. Durham and Chapel Hill have had "fully gay" clubs come and go, but clubs close to the college campuses tend to be open to and accepting of patrons of all sexual orientations. None of the cities has a dedicated GLBT community center. There are Metropolitan Community Churches in Raleigh and Durham. Local AIDS resources are gathered by the Alliance of AIDS Services - Carolina (AAS-C or "the Alliance.") The Alliance has a monthly fundraiser called Drag Bingo that draws players from all over the area, of all sexual orientations and all HIV statuses. The Alliance also sponsors the annual "Evening with Friends" fundraiser that accumulates the attendees of numerous "Evening with Friends" home parties held in private homes across the area during the previous weeks. The Crape Myrtle Festival is another non-profit organization that puts on an annual evening of dining and entertainment to raise money for local organizations working to stop HIV/AIDS and other public health crises. There is also the Triangle Business and Professional Guild ("The Guild") that gives local professionals and business people an opportunity to gather for networking and development. Equality NC works to secure equality and justice for North Carolina's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. The Human Rights Campaign has a strong following and presence in the area, as well. However, the biggest event of the Triangle gay calendar is NC Pride Fest, held annually in September.