Gay U.S. Ambassador and his husband Bob arrive for posting in Dominican Republic after torrent of abuse for being openly homosexual

Gay U.S. Ambassador and his husband Bob arrive for posting in Dominican Republic after torrent of abuse for being openly homosexual

• James 'Wally' Brewster arrived in Santo Domingo this week as U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic
• In a promotional video he appears with husband Bob Satawake
• Religious and anti-gay groups have criticized his appointment because he is openly gay
• He is the seventh openly gay U.S. Ambassador to be appointed
  

By Alex Ward

PUBLISHED: 06:46 EST, 29 November 2013 | UPDATED: 12:15 EST, 29 November 2013

 

The new U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic arrived in the country with his husband this week after a torrent of abuse from local religious groups about being openly gay.

James 'Wally' Brewster arrived in Santo Domingo despite calls for protest from groups in the Dominican Republic, explaining his future proposals in a promotional video.

In the video, posted on the U.S. Embassy website, Mr Brewster said: ‘My spouse, Bob, and I have travelled the world, from the far reaches of Asia to the stunning coastlines of southern Europe.’

 

 

Scroll down for video

 

Brought hubby with him: James Brewster (left), the new U.S. Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, arrived in the country last week and said he brought his husband Bob Satawake (right) with him, in a promotional U.S. Embassy video

 

 

 

While the Dominican Republic government accepted the new ambassador with open arms, some have been very critical about the appointment.

 The Dominican Evangelical Fraternity in the country called for a ‘black Monday’ protest, urging locals to tie black ribbons to their cars to show their opposition to Mr Brewster, according to local media.

Rev. Cristobal Cardozo, leader of the church, said Mr Brewster's presence in Santo Domingo would be 'an insult to good Dominican customs'.

 

'Hello, my name is Wally Brewster': The new diplomat has faced months of opposition from religious groups in the Dominican Republic because of his sexual orientation

 

 

James 'Wally' Brewster's message to the Dominican Republic

 

 

 

 

'Insult to Dominican customs': One evangelical church has called for locals to have a 'black Monday' protest in response to Mr Brewster's (pictured with Mr Satawake) arrival

 

 

 

A 'blunder': Roman Catholic Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez (right) has spoken out against Mr Brewster (left) on several occasions, calling the appointment by Obama a 'blunder'

 

According to CNN, Father Luis Rosario, the director of youth ministries for the church, said: ‘He has not considered the particularities of our people.

Mr Brewster being sworn in to his new diplomatic position by Vice President Joe Biden

 

‘The United States is trying to impose on us marriage between gays and lesbians as well as adoption by these couples.’

But national newspaper El Nacional this week urged people to focus on the ambassador’s plans outlined in the video rather than focus on his sexual orientation which had ‘generated more attention than his diplomatic mission,’ the paper reported.

Mr Brewster is the seventh U.S. Ambassador in history to be openly gay. The first was philanthropist James Hormel, appointed Ambassador to Luxembourg by President Bill Clinton in 1999.

In the Senate last month, Mr Brewster said: ‘I have already begun to see the challenges and controversies I will face in this job but the rewards of representing the American people, creating a more prosperous hemisphere, and strengthening democracy through our evolving relationship with the Dominican Republic will be far greater than any challenge or controversy I will ever encounter.’

In his promotional video, the new ambassador said: ‘We are both thrilled to be coming back to our second home in the Dominican Republic where I’m honored to serve as U.S. Ambassador.’

Earlier this year during a press conference in which Roman Catholic Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez was being asked about Mr Brewster before shifting to a question on agriculture, he said: 'We went from faggots and lesbians to chickens now?'

 

Welcome: Gay Pride marchers in Santo Domingo held signs earlier this year reading (R) 'Welcome Mr Ambassador James "Wally" Brewster' just days after Cardinal Rodriguez called Mr Brewster the Spanish equivalent of 'faggot' during a press conference

 

 

President's backing: Obama spoke of Mr Brewster's 'knowledge and dedication' when he announced the appointment in June

 

 

He also called the appointment of the nation’s top emissary from Washington D.C. A ‘blunder’.

 

 

Cardinal Rodriguez, the country's archbishop, said: 'It's the government's job to accept them. They are interested in advancing their agenda, but they have to know there are many people in the world who are against that, both in Christian and non-Christian governments.'

'Ask the Muslim world what they think about that, in addition to Christians and Evangelicals.'

 

 

Some journalists in the Dominican Republic predicted broad resentment toward the U.S. over Mr Brewster's nomination.

 

Gay pride is there: In June, a gay pride parade in the Dominican Republic's capital city was a minor show of political power in a very conservative Catholic country

 

Writing in the newspaper Acento, columnist Jose Alberto Ortiz said: 'Obama knows that a large majority of the Dominican population rejects [the idea] that two people of the same sex can unite in matrimony and form a family.'

The first: James Hormel was the first openly gay U.S. ambassador posted in Luxembourg during the Clinton presidency

 

'As it is not possible to convince the population of his ideology, he has opted to impose it - a typical act of an imperialist government.'

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke of Mr Brewster’s ‘knowledge and dedication’ when he announced the appointment back in June.

A 2010 U.S. State Department survey found that the Dominican Republic is 68.9 per cent Roman Catholic and 18.2 per cent Evangelical Christian. Just 10.6 per cent say they practice no religion.

President Obama has nominated five gay men to top diplomatic posts in the past month alone.

They include Brewster, former Obama for America finance chief Rufus Gifford (Denmark), Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Baer (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe), former Office of Personnel Management director John Berry (Australia) and former HBO executive James Costos (Spain).

Costos and his partner, decorator Michael Smith, bundled more than $1.1 million in donations for President Obama's re-election. Brewster, too, was in that exclusive $1 million-and-over club.

Other than the Dominican Republic, Spain is the only other majority-Catholic country among those expected to welcome gay U.S. ambassadors this year.

But gay marriage has been legal in Spain since 2005, following moves by that country's socialist government to liberalize social policies.

President Obama famously declared his support in 2012 for the right of gay couples to marry in the United States, citing issues of fairness and equal protection under the U.S. Constitution.

A LIFELONG DEMOCRAT: AMBASSADOR BREWSTER'S SERVICE TO OBAMA

• He is a lifelong Democrat and served as national LGBT co-chair and national co-chair of the Obama Leadership Circle from April 2010 to November 2012, engaging mainly in fundraising to re-elect President Obama.
• Mr Brewster started his career in management and marketing in Dallas, Texas but spent most of his career at General Growth Properties, a real estate investment trust in Chicago.
• In June 2010 he became managing partner of his own company, SB&K Global, a strategy consulting firm specializing in consumer dynamics, brand expansion,  global retail strategy and marketplace positioning.