Post-presidency of Gerald Ford R. Ford Library in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on the north campus of his alma mater, the University of Michigan, followed in September by the Gerald R. Ford Museum in Grand Rapids. In October 1977, Ford traveled to New Jersey to campaign for gubernatorial candidate Raymond Bateman to replace Brendan Byrne as Governor of New Jersey. Ford used his appearances to criticize the policies of both Bryne and President Carter. In August 1980, Ford traveled to Tokyo to participate in a seminar for the twentieth anniversary of the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between the United States and Japan and
Gerald Ford became the highest ranking Republican to embrace full equality for gays and lesbians, stating his belief that there should be a federal amendment outlawing anti-gay job discrimination and expressing his hope that the Republican Party would reach out to gay and lesbian voters. He also was a member of the Republican Unity Coalition, which "The New York Times" described as "a group of prominent Republicans, including former President Gerald R. Ford, dedicated to making sexual orientation a non-issue in the Republican Party". On November 22, 2004, New York Republican Governor George Pataki named Ford and the other living former Presidents