House Speaker Newt Gingrich's sister joined other gay activists lobbying on Capitol Hill Monday for anti-discrimination laws and continued federal funding to fight AIDS. Asked if her brother was anti-gay, she said no, "just maybe uninformed."
"Maybe he hasn't had people from both sides giving him information," said Candace Gingrich, the 28-year-old half-sister of the speaker.Candace Gingrich, who lives in Harrisburg, Pa., met with a staff member of Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., Monday morning, and planned to meet later with Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Rep. George Gekas, R-Pa.
She said she had tried to set up a meeting with her brother, but he was in Georgia giving a speech during the free time in her schedule. Candace Gingrich, who is a Democrat, said she had never talked to her brother about the fact that she is a lesbian.
Candace Gingrich was joining the lobbying effort of the Human Rights Campaign Fund, the nation's largest lesbian and gay political organization. Major concerns of the gay and lesbian community are discrimination in the workplace, including the military, and maintaining funding to fight AIDS.
"We don't seek special treatment," Candace Gingrich said, however, people ought to realize that gays and lesbians are everywhere.