The Republican Party platform will strongly oppose the Obama
administration's decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act, the
federal law that bars recognition of same-sex couples' marriages, in
court and will support "a constitutional amendment defining marriage as
the union of one man and one woman," according to the draft platform
language approved by subcommittees today.
The language must still
be adopted by the full committee on Tuesday and then by the convention
delegates in Tampa next week. According to the draft documents obtained
by BuzzFeed from two subcommittees, the Restoring Constitutional
Government subcommittee and the Health, Education and Crime
subcommittee, the platform will take those two positions, as well as
"support[ing] campaigns underway in several other states" to amend their
constitutions to recognize only marriages between one man and one
woman.
As BuzzFeed first reported, the platform also includes language about "respect and dignity," which a gay Republican group, the Log Cabin Republicans, cast as an olive branch.
But social conservatives ended the day claiming victory.
Family
Research Council president Tony Perkins told BuzzFeed: “You should read
the entire plank on marriage, which I wrote. I feel very happy about
it. I feel pretty optimistic about the outcome here.”
Calling out
"an activist judiciary," the draft document blasts "court-ordered
redefinition of marriage" before taking on the Obama administration.
"We
oppose the Administration's open defiance of this principle [of
separation of powers] — in its handling of immigration cases, in federal
personnel benefits, in allowing a same-sex marriage at a military base,
and in refusing to defend DOMA in the courts," the draft states.
Finally,
after praising the benefits of marriage, the draft documents state,
"[W]e believe that marriage, the union of one man and one woman must be
upheld as the national standard, a goal to stand for, encourage, and
promote through laws governing marriage."
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