28 Facts About Fred Karger

Fred Karger retired after 27 years and has since worked as an activist on gay rights causes, from unsuccessfully attempting to protect the gay bar The Boom to using his organization Californians Against Hate to investigate the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the National Organization for Marriage's campaigns to repeal the state's same-sex marriage law.

Fred Karger moved to Los Angeles from Chicago and began acting.

However, Fred Karger continued to follow his passion for politics, and eventually landed with the Dolphin Group in 1977.

Fred Karger served as executive vice president and chief financial officer through 2004.

Fred Karger managed statewide and local ballot measure campaigns, judicial campaigns, and served on several campaign finance and steering committees.

Fred Karger consulted on behalf of real estate developers, farmers, consumer product companies, the hospitality industry, and other businesses in their dealings with local, state and the federal government.

On July 18,2010, Fred Karger announced he had formed an exploratory committee for the United States presidential election of 2012.

In November 2010, Fred Karger aired a weeklong ad campaign in Iowa which was described as the first television commercial of the 2012 presidential race.

On July 13,2011, Fred Karger called fellow GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann a "liar, hypocrite, and bigot" when she refused to comment on allegations Bachmann's husband was using conversion therapy in his clinic to attempt to cure gays of homosexuality and saying that homosexuality was a choice.

Fred Karger was not present at the debates during 2011 and 2012.

Fred Karger appeared on the primary or caucus ballot in six states and one territory, where he came in fourth place.

On June 29,2012, following the Utah Republican presidential primary and the California Democratic presidential primary, Fred Karger officially ended his campaign.

In 2019, Fred Karger endorsed the second openly gay presidential candidate, Democrat Pete Buttigieg, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, Indiana, co-hosting a fundraiser for Buttigieg's campaign with his partner.

Fred Karger is opposed to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Fred Karger, who is Jewish, has compared his record on issues related to Israel with that of Menachem Begin, former Israeli prime minister and founder of the Likud Party.

Fred Karger is a critic of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints due to that church's opposition to same-sex marriage.

Fred Karger supported repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and making same-sex marriage the "law of the land".

Fred Karger has proposed a 28th Amendment to the United States Constitution which would grant 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote.

Fred Karger argues that such an amendment would encourage younger people to participate in the political process.

Fred Karger says he aims to improve education and create jobs in the US He supports immigration reform.

Fred Karger is opposed to nation-building in the Middle East.

Fred Karger first organized a non-profit group called Save the Boom to save a historic gay bar in Laguna Beach California from the wrecking ball.

In July 2008, Fred Karger founded Californians Against Hate to serve as a political watchdog of the major donors and organizations working to take away gay marriage in California through Proposition 8.

Fred Karger has stated that he considers his bid less about winning the presidency, than about getting the LDS Church to end its political campaign against same-sex marriage.

Previously, Fred Karger filed a formal complaint with the California Fair Political Practices Commission against the LDS Church, accusing the church of hiding the extent of its financial involvement supporting Proposition 8.

Fred Karger noticed discrepancies between the $2,078 worth of non-monetary contributions that the LDS Church had reported and all the activities that the church had undertaken to pass Proposition 8.

Fred Karger has repeatedly called for a Congressional Investigation of the National Organization for Marriage due to its late and non-reporting of its federal 990 income tax returns.

In 2011, Fred Karger encouraged Republicans to boycott Florida orange juice in protest of the Florida Republican Party's decision to reschedule its presidential primary to January, which upsets the normal primary calendar.