Jeff Davis
Log Cabin Republicans of Texas has officially denounced the 2014 Texas Republican Platform due to the inclusion of the plank endorsing “reparative therapy,” according to a statement released this afternoon by Jeff Davis, LCR-Texas chairman.
But the gay Republican group did applaud the removal of some “archaic” anti-gay language from the GOP platform.
Davis said, “While we are proud of the progress made by removing some of the archaic and damaging anti-gay language from the platform, Log Cabin Republicans of Texas is outraged over the addition of the plank regarding reparative therapy. Texas Republicans, regardless of sexual orientation, do not support this plank of the platform. The Republican Party of Texas should be ashamed that they are not representing the people.”
The archaic language to which Davis referred was found in a plank included in previous platforms, which read: “The practice of homosexuality tears at the fabric of society and contributes to the breakdown of the family unit.” His organization also praised the removal of a plank saying that the LGBT community should not be allowed to serve in the military.
The current Texas GOP platform was ratified June 7 during the Texas Republican Party Convention in Fort Worth. The inclusion of the “reparative therapy” plank drew sharp criticism from LGBT rights supporters.
But according to LCR-Texas, that plank also “has drawn wide criticism, ire, ridicule and dismay among Republican delegates attending the convention, and as well as from Republican voters and national commentators.”
LCR-Texas member Brenda Van Horn, described in the statement as “a long-standing straight ally and activist” for the LGBT community, said, “It is truly unfortunate that the Texas Republican Party leadership has allowed a small fringe of far-right-wing conservatives who do not represent the majority of loyal Republican voters to maintain a strong hold over the Texas GOP Convention.”
LCR-Texas Vice Chair Michael Baker said most members of his organization “would have preferred different immigration and medical marijuana policies,” but that “our focus and concern is on the hurtful language that remains in the platform, targeting our LGBT neighbors and voters.”
Van Horn added, ““By allowing a small fraction of the party to perpetuate anti-gay sentiment through the ‘reparative therapy’ plank, Texas GOP leadership has moved the Republican Party back in time 50 years or more. The language is offensive and malicious, but the most egregious part of this plank is the condemnation, intolerance and underlying fear-based hatred of other human beings whose sole difference is how they identify themselves sexually.”
The LCR-Texas poll quoted “recent polls and studies” as showing that “a majority of Republican voters are supportive of the LGBT community and LGBT rights issues. A 2014 study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 61 percent of younger, millennial Republican voters (age 18-29) support marriage equality.”
Van Horn said, “As loyal Republicans, who vote Republican, we want to grow the Republican Party by bringing more and more Republican voters into the fold. WWe want to win. We want to move the party forward into the future, and inclusion wins. Exclusion does not.”
Davis concluded, “We know that there are thousands of Republicans — straight and gay — who are extremely dissatisfied by the language which remains in the current platform. To these people, we urge you to join your local Log Cabin Republican Chapter, join Log Cabin Republicans of Texas. We also encourage you to write to Texas GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri and to your local newspaper to voice your disdain. Change doesn’t happen unless people stand up and demand it.”
