Warned that a publication would soon out him as gay, a Republican congressman decided in 1996 to come out voluntarily. Before telling the world, though, he first told his closest political friend, fellow Arizonan John McCain.

"There's something personal that's going to come out that I need you to know about me," Jim Kolbe recalled last week at a "Big Tent" luncheon of gay Log Cabin Republicans during the Republican National Convention.

"At that point (McCain) just put up his hands, and he said: 'Jim, it doesn't make any difference. ... You're a great legislator today; you're going to be a great legislator tomorrow. You're my friend today; you're my friend tomorrow. So none of this makes any difference."

McCain's warm reassurance gave Kolbe "both courage and encouragement" to come out publicly.

"I will never forget that reaction that I got from John McCain," Kolbe said.

"And although John McCain hasn't been exactly where we would like him to be on (gay) issues all the time, in my heart I know exactly where he is. ... There is not one iota of discrimination, or feeling against somebody like myself, because of the sexual orientation that we have," he continued.

"So it's a journey. It's a journey for all of us. It's a journey for John McCain," Kolbe said.

Four years ago, Log Cabin refused to endorse Republican George W. Bush for re-election because of his full-throated support for a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage nationwide. But it announced its endorsement of McCain for president at the luncheon.

Patrick Sammon, the president of Log Cabin, said on "the most important issue" the gay community faced in the last decade — the proposed federal marriage ban — "John McCain stood with us. And so now we stand with him."

It was the kind of daring — or perhaps I should say maverick — step that Log Cabin has long been respected for.

Log Cabin is saying: No, McCain isn't where any of us who're gay would like him to be. But he has taken concrete, positive steps — including opposing a constitutional ban on gay marriage and respectfully asking for gay votes at potential cost with his social conservative base — that make Log Cabin believe he deserves its endorsement.

The endorsement highlights the divide in the gay community, where the gay Human Rights Campaign has thrown its considerable political muscle behind Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama, who supports all but full marriage for gay Americans.

There were other changes afoot as well in St. Paul, Minn., signaling potentially important shifts in the Republican Party.

In what appears to be a first, the Republican nominee sent one of his highest-ranking people — McCain political director Mike DuHaime — to accept and thank Log Cabin for its endorsement.

DuHaime said McCain is "running an inclusive campaign and will have an inclusive administration." Later, the McCain team sent chief strategist Steve Schmidt to a second Log Cabin luncheon, where he said, "Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party."

Log Cabin President Sammon says McCain is an "inclusive Republican" who is steering his party away from divisive issues. Over the next two months, John McCain will have a chance to prove it.

Deb Price of The Detroit News writes the first nationally syndicated column on gay issues. To find out more about Deb Price and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.