Alabama GOP Seeks To Oust Pro-Gay College Republican Chairwoman

Proving yet again that Alabama has gone increasingly insane and reactionary compared to when I lived there 30 years ago, the Alabama GOP is seeking to oust the chairwoman of the College Republicans in that state.  Here offense? Her support for gay marriage and having the courage to state that not all Republicans agree with the dictates of the Christofascists who have taken over the party base.   The irony, of course, is that by conducting these kinds of witch hunts, the GOP is mere guaranteeing that the party's demographics will become even more centered on elderly far right Christian white voters.  Here are highlights from Yellowhammer News:

A proposed amendment to the bylaws of the Alabama Republican Party would remove from the Party’s steering committee any member who publicly supports a position contrary to the most recent GOP platform, which was adopted during the 2012 Republican National Convention.

Don Wallace of Tuscaloosa and Bonnie Sachs of Double Springs are the amendment’s sponsors. Sachs’ husband, Harold, is the most senior staffer at the Alabama Republican Party under Chairman Bill Armistead.

Party insiders say the proposed amendment was written as a direct result of comments made by current Alabama College Republicans Chairwoman Stephanie Petelos around the time the Supreme Court ruled the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutional.

“We just [love] freedom and fun. That’s all. Don’t hate.” Petelos posted on her Facebook page after the Court’s decision was announced. She also encouraged her Facebook friends to “like” a page for a pro-gay marriage group called “Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry.” Petelos said she joined the group because she believes “all people deserve to be treated equally under the law.”

[T]he ALGOP bylaws committee went a step further and proposed a written agreement that instructed Petelos to never speak publicly against any part of the Party’s platform. She declined to sign it. 

The amendment will be voted on by the Alabama Republican Party executive committee at the Party’s summer meeting on Aug. 24.

As readers may recall, the "social issues" portion of the GOP Party Platform was authored in large part by hate group leader Tony Perkins and similar Christofascists.  The clear message to younger pro-gay Republicans is that they are not wanted in the party.  I hope they get the message and walk away and thus hasten the much needed death of today's GOP.