- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of Dallas and help keep the future of Dallas Observer free.
In month when Texas Republicans seemingly cannot stop saying dumb things about homosexuality, the party's finished 2014 platform makes it clear the state GOP isn't just ignorant about gay life -- it's willfully ignorant. They even put it in writing.
See also: Rick Perry Doubles Down on Stupid Talking About Conversion Therapy
Some of the platform's language is almost unfathomable in 2014. On top of the usual stuff -- God is mentioned 12 times, Judeo-Christian values are mentioned four times -- the new platform contains some especially contentious language about the LGBTQ community.
In a section titled "Strengthening Families, Protecting Life, and Promoting Health," the platform says the following:
"Homosexuality is a chosen behavior that is contrary to the fundamental unchanging truths that have been ordained by God in the Bible, recognized by our nation's founders, and shared by the majority of Texans."
That's it. According to Texas Republicans gay folks in our state, for whatever reason -- certainly not any sort of privilege, protection from discrimination or granting of equivalent rights -- choose to feel attraction to whomever they are attracted. Just like, Unfair Park's sure, those who drafted the platform choose to feel attraction to their opposite-sex partners.
It's an all too common refrain, but for a party that claims to support small government and people fending for themselves, the Texas GOP sure cares a whole helluva a lot about what goes on in people's bedrooms and the deity or lack of deity they choose to believe or not believe in.
2014 Republican Party of Texas Platform
Keep the Dallas Observer Free... Since we started the Dallas Observer, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering Dallas with no paywalls.
