Release from the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas, June 24:

Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas Calls on Party Leaders to Address Problems with Anti-Gay Platform Planks

AUSTIN, TX - At the state Republican convention earlier this month the Texas GOP abandoned the Republican tradition of respecting the Constitution and protecting individual liberty and privacy rights by adopting a platform which includes planks which propose an attack on the civil liberties of some of our citizens.

The platform advocates policies which would make it a felony to perform a same-sex marriage in Texas, which would re-criminalize sodomy and which would take away the rights of gay parents in custody cases. These proposals are contrary to the values of most Texans and go against the Republican tradition of standing up for individual liberty.

The Republican Liberty Caucus strongly opposes the Texas GOP platform’s anti-gay and anti-liberty planks. We call for the state party to take action to address this problem. While it may not be possible to repeal or change the party platform, the state leadership should issue a clear statement that the platform is non-binding and does not represent the core, shared beliefs of Texas Republicans or of our candidates.

In a year in which we are looking forward to extraordinary opportunities for a great slate of Republican candidates in Texas, it would be a terrible mistake to shackle them to a platform which will alienate many potential supporters. This platform will weaken the
party at a time when a strong coalition of Republicans and independents is needed to stop the radical agenda of Democrats in both Austin and Washington.

“We need to focus on keeping the government out of our pocketbooks; especially in Texas,” said Texas RLC Chairman, Joey G. Dauben.

“There are far more pressing problems for the GOP in our state to worry about. While I personally disagree with same-sex marriage from a Biblical perspective, marriage is a contract between individuals and God, not with the government. If we want government out of our wallets and our boardrooms, we should also keep government out of our churches and our bedrooms.”

The Republican Liberty Caucus believes that true conservative leaders should be dedicated to cutting government spending rather than wasting resources by advocating policies that open the state up to lawsuits and create conflict. We need to put aside divisive issues and focus on real problems. We should work to bring Texans together to protect the interests of our state and its people and to oppose the radical tax and spend agenda of the Democrats that is bankrupting our nation.

We call on the state party to send a clear message to voters that the this platform does not represent the highest ideals of our party and that as a party we support individual liberty and equal rights for all Texans.

More info www.rlc.org