A GOP hopeful in the upcoming primary election for the Montana House of Representatives is breaking from his party to support what he calls an unpopular position — civil unions for homosexual couples.

John Michael Myers, who describes himself as a straight, white, single man and a practicing Roman Catholic, said he is not a traditional advocate for such a position, but nonetheless plans to submit a bill allowing for civil unions, should he be elected to House District 5.

“It’s probably not too common to have a Republican candidate declaring in favor of gay rights, especially in Montana, but I do think that it’s an important issue,” Myers said. “It’s a human rights issue and I also see it as a contractual rights issue, which I think is something that a lot of Libertarians can get on board with.”

He said the state Legislature should not restrict whether two consenting adults can contract with one another.

Myers’ own position on the subject has been molded by his own personal experiences throughout the years, including when his roommate at Gonzaga University, a fellow Roman Catholic, came out to him during his senior year.

He said the roommate was very shocked and relieved that Myers was accepting of his sexuality.

“I think he really expected I would be really critical of him for it despite the fact that we were good friends,” Myers said. “I remember at the time just feeling saddened that because of my political affiliation he would think that I would discriminate against him for who he is.”

But his connection to the issue goes back even further, as his sister, Michaela Myers, was best friends with Shane Bitney Crone growing up, and was recently featured in Crone’s documentary “Bridegroom.”

The documentary tells the story of Crone’s relationship with his partner, Thomas Bridegroom, and the lack of legal rights Crone had after Bridegroom’s tragic death in 2011 when he fell from a Los Angeles rooftop during a photo shoot.

“I realize [supporting civil unions] is an unpopular position in my party, but I think this country was founded upon ideals of freedom and liberty, and obviously we’ve had a long history of trying to put that into practice with slavery, women’s rights and racial equality, but I think that this is the next chapter in that,” Myers said.

He said he is specifically pursuing civil unions because he does not believe there is enough support to overturn a ballot initiative passed in 2004 preventing same-sex marriages from being conducted or recognized in Montana. The initiative passed with roughly two-thirds of voters in support.

Myers said he has received very positive reactions from voters in Whitefish and has received donations from both Republicans and Democrats as a result of his stance, although he has received some negative responses from those in his party.

Montana is one of only three states — North and South Dakota are the other two states — in which marriage laws are not being challenged.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at jdavis@dailyinterlake.com.