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| caption                 =

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| occupation              = [[Journalist]]; olitical activist

| occupation              = [[Journalist]]; political activist

| yearsactive             =  

| yearsactive             =  

| party                   = [[Republican Party|Republican]]-turned-[[Reform Party]]-turned [[Constitution rty].

| party                   = [[Republican Party|Republican]]-turned-[[Reform Party]]-turned [[Constitution rty].

| name               = Peter Benedict Gemma, Jr.

| name               = Peter Benedict Gemma, Jr.

| birth_date              = September 13, 1950

| birth_date              = September 13, 1950

| birth_place             = [[Providence, Rhode Island]]

| birth_place             = [[Providence]], [[Rhode Island]]

| death_date              = 

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| death_place             =

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|religion                      =[[Christianity]]

|religion                      =[[Christianity]]

}}

}}

'''Peter Benedict Gemma, Jr.''' (born September 13, 1950), is a free-lance writer and [[conservative]] [[political activist]] originally from [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]], [[Rhode Island]], currently based in [[Sarasota, Florida|Sarasota]], [[Florida]]. He has written for such publications as ''[[USA Today]]'', ''[[Human Events]]'' (a national weekly newspaper, since a [[website]]), ''The Washington Examiner'', ''Military History'', ''Quarterly Review'' of [[Great Britain]], and ''The Daily Caller''.  

'''Peter Benedict Gemma, Jr.''' (born September 13, 1950), is a free-lance writer and [[conservative]] [[political activist]] originally from [[Providence]], [[Rhode Island]], currently based in [[Sarasota]], [[Florida]]. He has written for such publications as ''[[USA Today]]'', ''[[Human Events]]'' (a national weekly newspaper, since a [[website]]), ''The Washington Examiner'', ''Military History'', ''Quarterly Review'' of [[Great Britain]], and ''The Daily Caller''.  

His 2006 book, ''Shots Fired: Sam Francis on America’s Culture War,” published by the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation of Vienna, [[Virginia]], is an edited study of the late [[paleoconservative]] columnist, [[Samuel T. Francis]], with foreword by [[Pat Buchanan]] and afterword by [[Joseph Sobran]], two of Gemma's mentors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/author/peter-gemma/|title=About Peter Gemma|publisher=''Independent Political Report''|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref> He has also worked for The Political Cesspool, a weekly  [[radio]] [[talk show]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/search/people/Peter-B-Gemma/Sarasota-FL|title=Peter B. Gemma|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref>

His 2006 book, ''Shots Fired: Sam Francis on America’s Culture War,” published by the Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation of Vienna, [[Virginia]], is an edited study of the late [[paleoconservative]] columnist, Samuel T. Francis, with foreword by [[Pat Buchanan]] and afterword by [[Joseph Sobran]], two of Gemma's mentors.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independentpoliticalreport.com/author/peter-gemma/|title=About Peter Gemma|publisher=''Independent Political Report''|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref> He has also worked for The Political Cesspool, a weekly  [[radio]] [[talk show]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.intelius.com/search/people/Peter-B-Gemma/Sarasota-FL|title=Peter B. Gemma|publisher=intelius.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref>

==Background==

==Background==

Gemma's father, Peter, Sr. (1924-2007) was born in Providence; his mother, the former Jane M. St. Amand (1924-2015), was originally from Worcester, [[Massachusetts]] but a long-term resident with her family of Warwick in Kent County in central Rhode Island. Peter, Sr., and Jane are interred at Saint Ann Cemetery in Cranston in Providence County. He has an older brother, John Patrick Gemma, Sr., of [[Dover, Delaware|Dover]], [[Delaware]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=140059489|title=Jane M. St. Amand Gemma|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}]</ref>

Gemma's father, Peter, Sr. (1924-2007) was born in Providence; his mother, the former Jane M. St. Amand (1924-2015), was originally from Worcester, [[Massachusetts]] but a long-term resident with her family of Warwick in Kent County in central Rhode Island. Peter, Sr., and Jane are interred at Saint Ann Cemetery in Cranston in Providence County. He has an older brother, John Patrick Gemma, Sr., of [[Dover]], [[Delaware]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=140059489|title=Jane M. St. Amand Gemma|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}]</ref>

Gemma graduated in 1968 from the [[Roman Catholic]] all-male Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classmates.com/people/Peter-Gemma/8729037279|title=Peter Gemma: Class of 1968|publisher=classmates.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref> He is no longer a Catholic, however. In 2016, while touring [[Seville, Spain|Seville]], [[Spain]], Gemma said on [[Facebook]] that he is "so thankful for my personal relationship with [[Jesus Christ]] - no [[cathedral]]s needed."<ref name=fbook>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/petergemma?fref=nf|title=Peter Gemma|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref>

Gemma graduated in 1968 from the [[Roman Catholic]] all-male Bishop Hendricken High School in Warwick, Rhode Island.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.classmates.com/people/Peter-Gemma/8729037279|title=Peter Gemma: Class of 1968|publisher=classmates.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref> He is no longer a Catholic, however. In 2016, while touring [[Seville]], [[Spain]], Gemma said on [[Facebook]] that he is "so thankful for my personal relationship with [[Jesus Christ]] - no [[cathedral]]s needed."<ref name=fbook>{{cite web|url=https://www.facebook.com/petergemma?fref=nf|title=Peter Gemma|publisher=[[Facebook]]|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref>

Since 2010, Gemma has been married to the former Catherine M. "Cathy" Goulding Douglas (born  1952), an [[Lawyer|attorney]]. He has a son and two daughters from two previous marriages, Peter Gemma, III (born c. 1983), who in 2015 wed the former Victoria Gravina in [[Las Vegas, Nevada|Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]; Adrienne Grace Gemma Maus (born 1994), who in 2015 married Shaun Maus; and Allyson Hope Gemma (born 1999), who lives in [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], [[Kentucky]], with her mother, Jodi Moody Evans, and her stepfather, Thomas Victor Evans, who owns a catering business.<ref name=fbook/>

Since 2010, Gemma has been married to the former Catherine M. "Cathy" Goulding Douglas (born  1952), an [[Lawyer|attorney]]. He has a son and two daughters from two previous marriages, Peter Gemma, III (born c. 1983), who in 2015 wed the former Victoria Gravina in [[Las Vegas]], [[Nevada]]; Adrienne Grace Gemma Maus (born 1994), who in 2015 married Shaun Maus; and Allyson Hope Gemma (born 1999), who lives in [[Lexington, Kentucky|Lexington]], [[Kentucky]], with her mother, Jodi Moody Evans, and her stepfather, Thomas Victor Evans, who owns a catering business.<ref name=fbook/>

==Career==

==Career==

===Writings===

===Writings===

Gemma has authored political articles for decades, including more than a hundred for ''USA Today.'' Some of his recent columns have been penned for [[The Social Contract Press]],  including:

Gemma has authored political articles for decades, including more than a hundred for ''USA Today.'' Some of his recent columns have been penned for The Social Contract Press,  including:

*"Free Trade: Exporting Jobs, Importing Aliens" (2012)

*"Free Trade: Exporting Jobs, Importing Aliens" (2012)

*"Korean Agreement Latest Fiasco in 'Free Trade' Deals - An Interview with Economnist Ian Fletcher" (2012)

*"Korean Agreement Latest Fiasco in 'Free Trade' Deals - An Interview with Economnist Ian Fletcher" (2012)

In 1993, Gemma wrote for ''USA Today'' a biographical sketch of [[Dan Smoot]], the former [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] agent and conservative scholar who had, among other aberrant positions,  challenged [[Barry Goldwater]]  during the [[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964 presidential campaign]] for the nominee's embrace of [[NATO]], which Smoot called a [[Globalism|globalist]] organization of questionable value.<ref name=dsmoot>{{cite web|url=http://www.peterbgemma.com/2014/01/dan-smoot/|title=Dan Smoot: The Man and His Message|author=Peter B. Gemma|date=January 1993|publisher=''[[USA Today]]''|accessdate=May 21, 2016}]</ref> Smoot later opposed the nomination of [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] to the [[United States Senate]] from [[Texas]] in 1970, the year that Bush lost to Democrat [[Lloyd Bentsen]]. Smoot also warned against the "invisible government" he viewed as the likely outcome of the domination of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] on national policy.<ref name=dsmoot/> 

In 1993, Gemma wrote for ''USA Today'' a biographical sketch of [[Dan Smoot]], the former [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] agent and conservative scholar who had, among other aberrant positions,  challenged [[Barry Goldwater]]  during the [[U.S. presidential election, 1964|1964 presidential campaign]] for the nominee's embrace of [[NATO]], which Smoot called a [[Globalism|globalist]] organization of questionable value.<ref name=dsmoot>{{cite web|url=http://www.peterbgemma.com/2014/01/dan-smoot/|title=Dan Smoot: The Man and His Message|author=Peter B. Gemma|date=January 1993|publisher=''[[USA Today]]''|accessdate=May 21, 2016}]</ref> Smoot later opposed the nomination of [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] to the [[United States Senate]] from [[Texas]] in 1970, the year that Bush lost to Democrat [[Lloyd Bentsen]]. Smoot also warned against the "invisible government" he viewed as the likely outcome of the domination of the [[Council on Foreign Relations]] on national policy.<ref name=dsmoot/> 

Gemma has written for ''The New American'', the magazine of the [[Communism|anti-communist]] [[John Birch Society]]. In this capacity, he urged the return of the [[Panama Canal]] to the supervision of the United States, something never considered since the canal was transferred to the [[Republic of Panama]], effective in 1999. Though Gemma has supported some individual Republican politicians, he has attacked the GOP as "the party of big oil and big government."<ref name=mal/> He has also contributed to the paleoconservative publication, ''[[Chronicles: A Magaine of American Culure]]'', a publication of the [[Rockford Institute]],<ref name=pbgbio/> and is a columnist for Middle American News. He wrote as well for the defunct ''Conservative Digest'' as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Peter-Gemma/335032108|title=Peter B. Gemma|publisher=zoominfo.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref> He is a contributor as well to the ''Unz Review: An Alternative Media Selection: A Collection of Interesting, Important, and Controversial Perspectives Largely Excluded from the American Mainstream Media'', founded by the conservative [[California]]n Ron Unz.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unz.com/|title=''The Unz Review''|publisher=unz.com|accessdate=May 21, 2016}]</ref>

Gemma has written for ''The New American'', the magazine of the [[Communism|anti-communist]] [[John Birch Society]]. In this capacity, he urged the return of the [[Panama Canal]] to the supervision of the United States, something never considered since the canal was transferred to the Republic of Panama, effective in 1999. Though Gemma has supported some individual Republican politicians, he has attacked the GOP as "the party of big oil and big government."<ref name=mal/> He has also contributed to the paleoconservative publication, ''Chronicles: A Magaine of American Culure'', a publication of the [[Rockford Institute]],<ref name=pbgbio/> and is a columnist for Middle American News. He wrote as well for the defunct ''Conservative Digest'' as well.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zoominfo.com/p/Peter-Gemma/335032108|title=Peter B. Gemma|publisher=zoominfo.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref> He is a contributor as well to the ''Unz Review: An Alternative Media Selection: A Collection of Interesting, Important, and Controversial Perspectives Largely Excluded from the American Mainstream Media'', founded by the conservative [[California]]n Ron Unz.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unz.com/|title=''The Unz Review''|publisher=unz.com|accessdate=May 21, 2016}]</ref>

Gemma is included in ''Marquis's Who's Who in American Politics'' and ''Who's Who in Washington D. C.''. He is a member of the late [[Ed McAteer]]'s Relgious Roundtable council of 56.<ref>{cite web|url=http://www.seekgod.ca/cnp.g.htm#gemma|title=The [[Council for National Policy]]: Selected Member Biographies, Peter B. Gemma, Jr.|publisher=seekgod.ca|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref>  

Gemma is included in ''Marquis's Who's Who in American Politics'' and ''Who's Who in Washington D. C.''. He is a member of the late [[Ed McAteer]]'s Relgious Roundtable council of 56.<ref>{cite web|url=http://www.seekgod.ca/cnp.g.htm#gemma|title=The [[Council for National Policy]]: Selected Member Biographies, Peter B. Gemma, Jr.|publisher=seekgod.ca|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref>  

In 1981, ''[[Life (magazine)|Life]]'' listed Gemma among the seven influential “Young Turks” of the Reagan era conservative movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peterbgemma.com/about/|title=About Peter B. Gemma|publisher=peterbgemma.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref>

In 1981, ''Life'' magazine listed Gemma among the seven influential “Young Turks” of the Reagan era conservative movement.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.peterbgemma.com/about/|title=About Peter B. Gemma|publisher=peterbgemma.com|accessdate=May 20, 2016}}</ref>

Because of his "ability to communicate patriotic ideas," Gemma won a George Washington Honors Medal from the patriotic organization, Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=pbgbio/> 

Because of his "ability to communicate patriotic ideas," Gemma won a George Washington Honors Medal from the patriotic organization, Freedoms Foundation of Valley Forge, [[Pennsylvania]].<ref name=pbgbio/> 

===Television appearances===

===Television appearances===

Gemma has appeared on such television series as ''[[60 Minutes]]'', on [[CBS]], ''[[Nightline]]'' with [[Ted Koppel]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], ''All Things Considered'' on [[PBS]], ''[[Crossifre (TV series)|Crossfire]]'' on [[CNN]], of which  Pat Buchanan was one of the original co-hosts, and ''[[Charlie Rose|The Charlie Rose Show]]'' on PBS.<ref name=pbgbio/>

Gemma has appeared on such television series as ''[[60 Minutes]]'', on [[CBS]], ''[[Nightline]]'' with [[Ted Koppel]] on [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]], ''All Things Considered'' on [[PBS]], ''Crossfire'' on [[CNN]], of which  Pat Buchanan was one of the original co-hosts, and ''The Charlie Rose Show'' on PBS.<ref name=pbgbio/>

===Political activities===

===Political activities===

In retrospect, he could point out that O'Connor's Supreme Court record, along with two other Republican appointees, [[Anthony Kennedy]] and [[David Souter]], supplied the majority in a key 1991 decision to maintain legal abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Court/Sandra_Day_O_Connor_Abortion.htm|title=Liberty to define one's own concept of mystery of human life|publisher=On The Issues|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref>

In retrospect, he could point out that O'Connor's Supreme Court record, along with two other Republican appointees, [[Anthony Kennedy]] and [[David Souter]], supplied the majority in a key 1991 decision to maintain legal abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ontheissues.org/Court/Sandra_Day_O_Connor_Abortion.htm|title=Liberty to define one's own concept of mystery of human life|publisher=On The Issues|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref>

In 1981, Gemma issued a "hit list" calling for the defeat such pro-abortion members of Congress as U.S. Senators George J. Mitchell of [[Maine]], [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]] of New York, and [[John Chafee]] of Rhode Island, and former presidential candidate, Democratic Representative [[Morris Udall]] of Arizona. Citing their opposition on principle to a "hit list", two leading members of the Pro-Life PAC resigned from the organization. U.S. Senator Jake Garn of [[Utah]] and Representative [[Henry Hyde]] of [[Illinois]], the author of the [[Hyde Amendment]] which forbade the use of [[Medicaid]] fund to underwrite the costs of abortion, said "hit lists" are counterproductive because they create irrevocable discord among legislators, any of whom can be subject to a "single issue" attack of this kind. Gemma said he was surprised by the withdrawal of Garn and Hyde from the PAC committee but continued with plans to spend $650,000 for the 1982 elections on behalf of anti-abortion candidates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/07/weekinreview/the-nation-congressmen-draw-the-line-at-new-hit-list.html|title=THE NATION; Congressmen; Draw the Line at; New 'Hit List'|date=June 7, 1981|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref> Gemma said the PAC was trying to "influence those representatives, senators and candidates from both parties who are ambivalent or undecided on this matter of life versus death. If we can knock off some highly visible officeholders, it sends a signal to the mushy middle, as I call them.''<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/04/us/three-quit-antiabortion-group-over-political-hit-list.html|title=Three Quit Anti-abortion Group over Political 'Hit List'|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=June 4, 1981|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref> A year later, Republican Senator [[Orrin Hatch]] of Utah, in his bid for a second term, disowned advertising from the Pro-Life PAC against Hatch's Democratic opponent, Mayor Ted Wilson of [[Salt Lake City]]. He asked for support only through organized channels. [[Mike Leavitt]], Hatch's campaign manager that year and later the [[governor of Utah]], said that Hatch had a "strong disagreement with [Gemma's] tactics. We wish they would take their distasteful act back to Virginia. Negative political advertising is rare in Utah."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/13/us/hatch-disowns-group-s-ads-attacking-mayor-of-salt-lake.html|title=Hatch Disowns Group's Ads Attackiong Mayor of Salt Lake|date=June 13, 1982|publisher=''The New York Times''|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref> 

In 1981, Gemma issued a "hit list" calling for the defeat such pro-abortion members of Congress as U.S. Senators George J. Mitchell of [[Maine]], [[Daniel Patrick Moynihan]] of New York, and [[John Chafee]] of Rhode Island, and former presidential candidate, Democratic Representative [[Morris Udall]] of Arizona. Citing their opposition on principle to a "hit list", two leading members of the Pro-Life PAC resigned from the organization. U.S. Senator Jake Garn of [[Utah]] and Representative [[Henry Hyde]] of [[Illinois]], the author of the [[Hyde Amendment]] which forbade the use of [[Medicaid]] fund to underwrite the costs of abortion, said "hit lists" are counterproductive because they create irrevocable discord among legislators, any of whom can be subject to a "single issue" attack of this kind. Gemma said he was surprised by the withdrawal of Garn and Hyde from the PAC committee but continued with plans to spend $650,000 for the 1982 elections on behalf of anti-abortion candidates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/07/weekinreview/the-nation-congressmen-draw-the-line-at-new-hit-list.html|title=THE NATION; Congressmen; Draw the Line at; New 'Hit List'|date=June 7, 1981|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref> Gemma said the PAC was trying to "influence those representatives, senators and candidates from both parties who are ambivalent or undecided on this matter of life versus death. If we can knock off some highly visible officeholders, it sends a signal to the mushy middle, as I call them."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/04/us/three-quit-antiabortion-group-over-political-hit-list.html|title=Three Quit Anti-abortion Group over Political 'Hit List'|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=June 4, 1981|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref> A year later, Republican Senator [[Orrin Hatch]] of Utah, in his bid for a second term, disowned advertising from the Pro-Life PAC against Hatch's Democratic opponent, Mayor Ted Wilson of [[Salt Lake City]]. He asked for support only through organized channels. [[Mike Leavitt]], Hatch's campaign manager that year and later the [[governor of Utah]], said that Hatch had a "strong disagreement with [Gemma's] tactics. We wish they would take their distasteful act back to Virginia. Negative political advertising is rare in Utah."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/13/us/hatch-disowns-group-s-ads-attacking-mayor-of-salt-lake.html|title=Hatch Disowns Group's Ads Attackiong Mayor of Salt Lake|date=June 13, 1982|publisher=''The New York Times''|accessdate=May 23, 2016}}</ref> 

In 1982, Gemma defended as highly successful his targeting of opponents with use of a "single-issue". In the 1984 congressional races, Gemma said that 65 percent of the candidates his [[political action committee]] had supported for nomination or election had been successful. "Quite obviously we turned out more of our constituency than the pro-abortion lobby, even though they outspent us as they have every year since the political battle over abortion began," Gemma said.<ref>

In 1982, Gemma defended as highly successful his targeting of opponents with use of a "single-issue". In the 1984 congressional races, Gemma said that 65 percent of the candidates his [[political action committee]] had supported for nomination or election had been successful. "Quite obviously we turned out more of our constituency than the pro-abortion lobby, even though they outspent us as they have every year since the political battle over abortion began," Gemma said.<ref>

===Reform Party===

===Reform Party===

Over the following decade, Gemma lost faith in the national Republican Party for its failure to challenge effectively its Democratic opposition. In 1999, he left the GOP to follow Pat Buchanan into the Reform Party, then recently organized by former [[Independent]] presidential candidate [[Ross Perot]] of Texas from the remnants of his United We Stand America organization.<ref name=pbgbio/> He became a Reform Party national committee member for Virginia, where he was then residing and supporting Buchanan's third-party bid for the presidency, which followed two unsuccessful attempts for the Republican nomination in 1992 against incumbent George Herbert Walker Bush and in 1996 against U.S. Senator [[Robert Dole]] of [[Kansas]]. Gemma had supported Buchanan in those two campaigns as well. He called himself a "moderate extremist". He was a member of the [[Council for National Policy]], a group established in 1981 which meets without the media present three times annually to promote without fanfare a conservative national agenda. Its members have included  U.S. Senator [[Jesse Helms]] of [[North Carolina]], former [[United States Attorney General]] [[Ed Meese]], long-term activist [[Phyllis Schlafly]], financiers [[Nelson Bunker Hunt]] and [[J. Peter Grace]], and Jerry Falwell.<ref name=mal>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2002/patrick-buchanan%E2%80%99s-reform-party-begins-unraveltitle=Patrick Buchanan’s Reform Party Begins to Unravel|author=Martin A. Lee|date=September 20, 2002|publisher=spicenter.org|accessdate=May 20, 2016}]</ref>

Over the following decade, Gemma lost faith in the national Republican Party for its failure to challenge effectively its Democratic opposition. In 1999, he left the GOP to follow Pat Buchanan into the Reform Party, then recently organized by former [[Independent]] presidential candidate [[Ross Perot]] of Texas from the remnants of his United We Stand America organization.<ref name=pbgbio/> He became a Reform Party national committee member for Virginia, where he was then residing and supporting Buchanan's third-party bid for the presidency, which followed two unsuccessful attempts for the Republican nomination in 1992 against incumbent George Herbert Walker Bush and in 1996 against U.S. Senator [[Robert Dole]] of [[Kansas]]. Gemma had supported Buchanan in those two campaigns as well. He called himself a "moderate extremist". He was a member of the [[Council for National Policy]], a group established in 1981 which meets without the media present three times annually to promote without fanfare a conservative national agenda. Its members have included  U.S. Senator [[Jesse Helms]] of [[North Carolina]], former [[United States Attorney General]] [[Ed Meese]], long-term activist [[Phyllis Schlafly]], financiers Nelson Bunker Hunt and J. Peter Grace, and Jerry Falwell.<ref name=mal>{{cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/intelligence-report/2002/patrick-buchanan%E2%80%99s-reform-party-begins-unraveltitle=Patrick Buchanan’s Reform Party Begins to Unravel|author=Martin A. Lee|date=September 20, 2002|publisher=spicenter.org|accessdate=May 20, 2016}]</ref>

In Buchanan's 2000 Reform Party challenge to [[George W. Bush]] and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Al Gore]], Gemma collaborated with the Virginia branch of the American Friends of the British National Party, considered a white nationalist organization. However, Gemma denied being part of the group and told an interviewer that he had merely "dropped off some Buchanan petitions" at an AFBNP function in [[Arlington, Virginia|Arlington]], Virginia, another of Gemma's former cities of residence.<ref name=mal/>

In Buchanan's 2000 Reform Party challenge to [[George W. Bush]] and [[Vice President of the United States|Vice President]] [[Al Gore]], Gemma collaborated with the Virginia branch of the American Friends of the British National Party, considered a white nationalist organization. However, Gemma denied being part of the group and told an interviewer that he had merely "dropped off some Buchanan petitions" at an AFBNP function in Arlington, Virginia, another of Gemma's former cities of residence.<ref name=mal/>

===Constitution Party===

===Constitution Party===

===Current interest===

===Current interest===

Gemma is writing a book on [[Southern United States|southern]] politics from 1956 to 1976, the period when racial segregation was ended through federal laws and judicial edicts. The project began as a [[biography]] of the late U.S. Representative John Rarick of [[Louisiana]]'d 6th congressional district, who ran for governor in 1967 and was in 1980 the nominee in eight states of the [[American Independent Party]].<ref name=shotsfired>Peter B. Gemma, ''Shots Fired: Sam Francis on America's Culture War'' (Vienna, Virginia: Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation, 2006), p. 330.</ref> Gemma will instead focus on various state politicians then in office, some of whom were defeated for their stands supporting segregation ([[Albert Watson]] of [[South Carolina's 2nd congressional district]]), others of whom switched sides to embrace [[civil rights]] ([[George Wallace]] of [[Alabama]] and [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]] of Louisiana), and still others who retired from the failed fight to preserve segregation ([[Orval Faubus]] of [[Arkansas]]).<ref name=readings/>

Gemma is writing a book on southern politics from 1956 to 1976, the period when racial segregation was ended through federal laws and judicial edicts. The project began as a [[biography]] of the late U.S. Representative John Rarick of [[Louisiana]]'d 6th congressional district, who ran for governor in 1967 and was in 1980 the nominee in eight states of the [[American Independent Party]].<ref name=shotsfired>Peter B. Gemma, ''Shots Fired: Sam Francis on America's Culture War'' (Vienna, Virginia: Fitzgerald Griffin Foundation, 2006), p. 330.</ref> Gemma will instead focus on various state politicians then in office, some of whom were defeated for their stands supporting segregation (Albert Watson of South Carolina's 2nd congressional district), others of whom switched sides to embrace [[civil rights]] ([[George Wallace]] of [[Alabama]] and [[J. Bennett Johnston, Jr.]] of Louisiana), and still others who retired from the failed fight to preserve segregation ([[Orval Faubus]] of [[Arkansas]]).<ref name=readings/>

==References==

==References==