Texas GOP Unleashes a Horrific Anti-LGBTQ Platform

metroweekly.com:

50-page platform, which delegates approved during the party’s annual state convention in San Antonio on May 25, contains several planks meant to cater to social conservatives.

While party platforms are not binding, they generally provide voters with an idea of the issues that will be prioritized by party leadership should they take power and a statement of a party’s values.Among the Texas GOP’s various planks are opposition to marriage equality, including a full repeal of the Supreme Court’s 2015 Obergefell v.

Hodges decision that overturned various state bans on same-sex marriage, denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples, and the refusal to recognize same-sex marriages that were legally performed in other states as valid.The party also espouses the right of business owners or state and county employees to refuse to participate in, provide goods and services for, or be forced to recognize the validity of, marriages between two people of the same gender.The party also opposes criminal or civil penalties, including lawsuits or fines, against those who oppose “nontraditional sexual behavior or same-sex relationships due to their religious convictions.”“We affirm God’s biblical design for marriage and family between one biological man and one biological woman, which has proven to be the foundation for all great nations in Western Civilization,” the platform reads. “We oppose homosexual marriage, regardless of state of origin.

We urge the Texas Legislature to pass religious liberty protections for individuals, businesses, and government officials who believe marriage is between one man and one woman.”The platform calls homosexuality an “abnormal lifestyle choice” undeserving of special legal status or recognition.