In March 2013, Lopez joined Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry along with S. E. Cupp, Abby Huntsman, Elizabeth Huntsman, Mary Anne Huntsman, Meghan McCain and other conservative and Republican activists.[19] In June 2013, Lopez joined the group on a nationwide campaign to change the Republican Party's platform points on the issue; the campaign included visits to New Hampshire, Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada.[20][c] He was among a group of Republican leaders who expressed their support of same-sex married by filing an amicus brief at the Supreme Court.[22] The brief was organized by former Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman.[22] Others involved in filing the amicus brief included Senators Mark Kirk and Susan Collins; Former Governor Jon Huntsman of Utah and Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts; David Koch; former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and retired General Stanley McChrystal.[22] On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges meant that the Freedom to Marry's movement could be brought to a close.[23]
Lopez, a member of the Republican Liberty Caucus, participated in a national tour sponsored by Our America Initiative to advocate for libertarian party participation in national presidential debates.[24][25][d] The 40-state tour included speakers such as Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld, Free the People's Matt Kibbe, political and communications consultant Liz Mair, Reason Foundation’s David Nott, Foundation for Economic Education’s Jeffrey Tucker, Libertarian Party's Carla Howell and Lopez.[24][e]
Lopez is an advocate of the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact,[29] as he discussed on an interview on PBS' The Open Mind.[30] In 2020, Lopez became part of the board of advisory board for Libertarians for National Popular Vote, along with former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson and former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee; the efforts seek to coalesce libertarian-leaning voters in support of the compact.[31]
^Lopez was identified as a leader in the movement.[20] Following an announcement of Republican support among state senators in Rhode Island, Lopez stated: "Rhode Island Republicans are leading the way to a more inclusive GOP — one that can continue to grow and stay relevant as America changes. Their actions today show that not only do they know the freedom to marry is completely in line with conservative values like personal liberty and the importance of family, they are working to make it a reality."[21]
^Lopez said he supported former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson in the 2016 election during an interview with The Huffington Post in June 2016.[26] During an interview on C-SPAN's Washington Journal, Lopez was asked whether he planned to remain a Republican and whether he felt Governors Gary Johnson and Bill Weld were sufficiently libertarian to which his response was: "I still believe in the Republican Party. I would like to see the Republican Party come out of this stronger. I'm not here to define how libertarian the Johnson-Weld ticket is or isn't; I understand Libertarians debate this robustly."[27]
^Lopez said during the tour, "The main reason that I chose to come on this tour and talk to millennials and talk to students all over the country is because in addition to being libertarian, I’m a realist, and so, I sympathized a lot with one of Gary Johnson’s principles of good government. And that’s a principle of realism."[28]
^He was a collaborator and editor on Martin Popoff's book Pink Floyd: Album by Album and is the publisher of Publius Enigma, a website focused on Pink Floyd's post-1983 work.[34]
^"Frequently Asked Questions". Republican Liberty Caucus. Retrieved December 4, 2016. National Board serving through 2015: Vice Chair Ed Lopez of Connecticut
^"Republican Support for Libertarian Candidates (video)". C-SPAN. August 8, 2016. Retrieved December 4, 2016. Ed Lopez, co-chair of Republicans for Johnson/Weld, talked about why he and other Republicans were supporting the Libertarian ticket in 2016, as well as their work to bolster third-party candidates.
^"A Popular Electoral College (video)". Thirteen. September 2, 2019. Retrieved October 15, 2019. Republican political strategist Ed Lopez discusses the federalist argument for the National Popular Vote.
^"Ed Lopez on The Open Mind: A Popular Electoral College (video)". YouTube The Open Mind Channel. September 2, 2019. Retrieved January 14, 2021. On this episode of The Open Mind, we're delighted to welcome Ed Lopez-Reyes to continue our discussion of the national popular vote movement with one of its most important grassroots advocates on the eastern seaboard.
United States
