The national president of the Log Cabin Republicans was in Lawrence on Thursday to mark the start of a local chapter of the group that represents gays and lesbians in the GOP.

But the or-ganizing effort here was under the radar of the Kansas Republican Party, which currently is dominated by social conservatives who support the state’s ban on gay marriages.

Kansas GOP chairman Tim Shallenburger said he was surprised to learn that the Log Cabin group was taking root in the Kansas City metro area.

“I didn’t know that,” Shallenburger said. “That’s interesting. I know who they are and what they believe, but that’s about it – whether they’ll survive in Kansas, we’ll have to wait and see.”

Guerriero said it was important for gay people to get out and talk with straight people if they were to advance their goals of equal rights.

He said studies have shown that when someone has a friend, relative, or co-worker who’s homosexual, they are three times more likely to support equal rights for gays and lesbians.

“Obviously, there are a lot of conversations to be had,” Guerriero said.

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Guerriero, 37, was in Lawrence as part of a national tour tied to the openings of several new chapters, including one in the Kansas City metro area.

“In a span of about three years, we’ve grown from 25 chapters to almost 60,” Guerriero said. “It’s incredible.”

Much of this growth, he said, is in response to several states’ efforts to ban gay marriages.

“There’s a new generation – gays and lesbians under 30 – that’s ready to make itself heard,” Guerriero said, noting that most of the new and pending chapters are in “Southern states, the heartland and so-called red states.”

The GOP, he said, should embrace this generation.

“If it’s not careful, I’m afraid the Republican Party will find itself on the wrong side of these issues,” he said. “That would be a big mistake.”

How this plays in Kansas, a state that in April voted by more than 2-to-1 to ban gay marriages, remains to be seen.

“It’s a long process,” said Guerriero, a former small-town mayor and state legislator from Democrat-heavy Massachusetts – “A state where it’s harder to be Republican than it is to he gay,” he joked.

Guerriero said Log Cabin Republicans have been disappointed that Sen. Sam Brownback is leading efforts to amend the U.S. Constitution to block gay marriage.

“We will continue talking to Sen. Brownback,” he said.

In other states, Log Cabin Republicans chapters have been assured seats on committees that write their state party’s platform.

Guerriero said he’s not proposing that for Kansas.

“That would be far, far down the road – if it’s even there,” he said.

Bruce Ney, chairman of Kansans for Fairness, which opposed the recently adopted amendment to the state constitution that reinforced the Kansas ban on gay marriage, said he expected the chapter to succeed.

“This may come as an eye-opener for some, but not all gays are Democrats,” he said. “I know lots of gay Republicans from around the state.”

Ney, a lawyer who’s also vice president of NetworQ, an organization for gays and lesbians in Lawrence, said he would explore starting a statewide Log Cabin Republicans chapter.

“We’re Republicans, too,” he said. “We should have the opportunity to be heard.”