RNC Set to Vote on Anti-Gay Resolutions This Week

This week will be another test as to whether or not the Republican Party is ready to move into the 21st century.  Previous Party Platforms on social issues have been largely authored by Christofascists and hate group extremists.  This week the Republican National Committee ("RNC") will vote on anti-gay resolutions opposing same sex marriage and opposition to sex education that includes LGBT individuals.  Many in the RNC seemingly wish gays would either disappear or be struck dead in a single stroke.     The odds are that the anti-gay resolutions will pass and the GOP will further signal younger voters that it remains the party of the hate filled past.  Here are highlights on the coming vote from the Washington Blade (note the assumption that being gay is synonymous with being HIV positive and, therefore, diseased):

In the same week Republican presidential candidates are scheduled to slug it out in their first official debate, the Republican National Committee is set to vote during its summer meeting on resolutions against same-sex marriage and in favor of anti-gay sex education in schools, the Washington Blade has learned.

The Blade obtained text of two proposed anti-gay resolutions . . .  on the table for discussion during the upcoming meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.

If the RNC were to adopt any of the non-binding resolutions next week, it would be the first official act of the Republican Party on the marriage issue following the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision last month in favor of marriage rights for same-sex couples. The initial vote could take place during the executive committee meetings on Wednesday and Thursday, where a successful vote would lead to consideration at the full committee meeting on Friday.

One resolution, titled “Resolution for Balanced Sex-Ed in Schools,” was introduced by former Michigan State House lawmaker and RNC member Dave Agema. It encourages schools “teaching the homosexual lifestyle in their sexual education class” to “also include the harmful physical aspects of the lifestyle.”

The resolution is based on the belief the Republican Party “supports the institution of traditional marriage,” which is considered code for opposition to same-sex marriage. The proposal is also based on questionable assertions that American culture “is portraying the homosexual lifestyle as an attractive option for school-aged children” and the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes says being gay take up to 21 years off a person’s life. 

The resolution sponsor Agema is the same RNC member who has repeatedly landed in hot water for making anti-gay, racist and anti-Muslim posts on Facebook, such as an endorsement of Russia’s anti-gay propaganda law and an article saying gay people are “filthy,” frequently pedophiles and responsible for 50 percent of U.S. murders. Republican National Committee Chair Reince Preibus and Michigan Republican Party Chair Bobby Schostok have called on Agema to step down and the RNC has censured him, but no explicit mechanism exists to expel him from the RNC and he has remained in his post.

Another resolution, titled “To Reserve, Strip and Pursue,” was introduced by Republican National Committee member Ross Little of Louisiana directly.

The proposal calls on Congress to defy the Supreme Court by passing, in accordance with the Tenth Amendment, legislation saying marriage laws and recognition of marriages is the exclusive province of the states, although states shouldn’t be able to legalize polygamy or prohibit interracial marriage. Further, in accordance with Article III of the U.S. Constitution, the resolution seeks legislation stripping federal courts of jurisdiction of marriage issues.

The RNC didn’t respond to multiple requests to comment on any of the resolutions, although multiple sources have confirmed they’re on the table. 

To read the full text of the anti-gay resolutions, go to the Blade story.   Hate and bigotry remain among the hallmarks of today's GOP.  Frankly, I am surprised that the resolutions did not call for the reintroduction of bans on interracial marriage give the rampant racism in the GOP base.