Meeting in Cleveland, the Republican Party Platform Committee was asked by a gay member of the committee, even if you oppose gay marriage "CAN YOU NOT AT THE VERY LEAST STAND UP FOR OUR RIGHT NOT TO BE KILLED?" The Republicans thought about it and said NO - they can’t condemn anyone who murders or executes LGBT people. And Donald Trump said he would look out for gay people.

by Roy Steele

Cleveland, Ohio --- Republicans continue to be obsessed with denigrating and debasing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans, and their bigotry was on full display in the midwest this week. I’m not sure when we became subhuman creatures from the deep, but that’s how they view the LGBT community and that’s how they treat us. They want to roll back any and all progress we’ve made related to civil rights and marriage equality, and their wanton disregard for the Constitution and the law is both remarkable and disgusting.

GOP Party Platform Is Debated And Adopted

The Republican Party Platform Committee met in Cleveland, Ohio, ahead of next week’s national convention, to debate and decide the party’s guiding principles and issue positions for the next four years. There are 112 delegate members of the committee, as each delegation sends a man and woman (fifty states plus D.C. and U.S. territories equals fifty-six delegations).

The committee is vehemently opposed to electing the president by popular vote because winning the popular vote in a national election is becoming increasingly difficult for Republicans. They reiterated their support for the convoluted electoral college as it gives them a better chance of winning. Goody for them.

The Republican National Committee blog claims that the GOP is committed to personal freedom.

Our Party is dedicated to personal freedom. We believe in listening to the voice of every American and ensuring a fully open and transparent democratic process.

I agree that the party is fully open about displaying their bigotry, but they’re uninterested in listening to the voice of every American. They're fine with most  Americans having personal freedom but you're out of luck if you're lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.

Annie Dickerson and Rachel Hoff Are Brave And Heroic LGBT Advocates

Anne 'Annie' Dickerson

Imagine going to Cleveland to participate in crafting the GOP platform. You accept the job because you want to change the culture of a party that has been intolerant and unwelcoming to minority groups. Two brave women took on the entire platform committee to expand their tent and be more welcoming, promote tolerance and LGBT rights, and they made some noise and stood up to the right-wing establishment.

According to Zeke J. Miller writing for Time, New York delegate Anne ‘Annie’ Dickerson “repeatedly sparred” with Louisiana delegate and hate group leader Tony Perkins over gay marriage and conversion therapy. Three gay cheers for Annie! She is an amazing ally to the gay community and I’m impressed by her knowledge of the facts and her unwavering support. He also wrote about the first out lesbian on the platform committee, who shared her heart and soul with her fellow delegates.

At the full gathering, Washington, D.C. delegate Rachel Hoff, the first openly gay member of the committee, introduced an amendment to rewrite the GOP’s language on same-sex marriage to allow for a range of viewpoints on the issue, as opposed to the strong rejecting in the initial draft. “All I ask today is that you include me and people like me,” she said, fighting back tears. Hoff’s amendment failed by a roughly 3-1 margin. It was not immediately clear whether it has the support of 28 of the committee’s members, which is the threshold at which a minority report can be brought before the full convention next week.

Rachel Hoff

Three gay cheers go to Rachel Hoff for wading into such deep water with so many sharks circling above. I give her a tremendous amount of credit for asking the delegates to remain neutral about gay marriage. She even went further and tried to insert language into the platform to condemn Islamic terrorists’ targeting of LGBT people for execution. She said even if you oppose gay marriage “can you not at the very least stand up for our right not to be killed?” Her plea fell on deaf ears and the committee said NO, they will not take a stand against Islamic terrorists murdering gay people. They are fine with the Orlando massacre!  I tip my hat to Rachel because she did everything she could to stand up for the LGBT community.

Republican Party Hypocrisy Strikes Again

Republicans added a plank supporting the soul-crushing and unethical reparative or conversion therapy to the platform. They also addressed restroom regulations and described the Obama administration’s transgender student guidelines as “illegal and dangerous” and “alien to America’s history and traditions.”

The party that says it believes in ‘limited government’ wants to regulate where people pee, and regulate women's reproductive organs, while they claim that internet pornography is a public health crisis. Say what? That's not limited government or conservative.

“Pornography, with his harmful effects, especially on children, has become a public health crisis that is destroying the life of millions. We encourage states to continue to fight this public menace and pledge our commitment to children’s safety and wellbeing.” Did you know that pornography is “destroying the life of millions?” If I asked the Republican Party to produce evidence to back up their statement and point me to the facts, they couldn’t do it. They make stuff up all the time and that’s why they have an image problem and they're losing public support.

It seems that the GOP went out of their way to double down on anti-LGBT bigotry and they rejected adopting a more conciliatory tone. They are so out of touch with popular opinion and younger voters that their hostility toward the LGBT community will have a lasting effect in the minds of millennial voters. Younger people do not have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party.

Before the platform committee met I wrote that the Republican Party alienates women, immigrants, people of color, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. And I added that it’s not a smart move to alienate anyone if you want to win elections. The Republican Party Platform Committee is NOT smart.

While the Constitution does not require that we have two political parties, our democracy works best when we have two robust parties that are committed to working together. Our democracy works when Republican and Democrats can debate the issues and find common ground. Our democracy works when our representatives in Washington are serious about governing. 'We the people' includes LGBT people too - despite the best efforts of the GOP to exclude us.

Our country would be in much better shape if the Republican Party was less divisive and way more smart. Remember the Whigs?