{"id":183,"date":"2016-07-11T20:23:46","date_gmt":"2016-07-12T00:23:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=183"},"modified":"2018-03-01T15:09:40","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T20:09:40","slug":"gop-platform-contemplates-anti-porn-provision-embrace-of-conversion-therapy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=183","title":{"rendered":"GOP Platform Contemplates Anti-Porn Provision, Embrace of ‘Conversion Therapy’"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0ZEKE J MILLER \/ CLEVELAND<\/a><\/div>\n
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The Republican Party\u2019s platform is taking a turn for the right.<\/p>\n

As GOP delegates gather in Cleveland to formulate the party\u2019s principles document, social conservative priorities have dominated the discussion, with several provisions opposition same-sex marriage and endorsing controversial conversion therapy passing preliminary votes Monday. The platform committee approved several of the measures in a sometimes-heated discussion between social conservatives and more moderate Republicans that represent a more conservative shift from the draft platform authored by Republican National Committee staff and outside advisors. But the platform committee softened language calling for legislation in opposition to transgender protections pushed by the Obama administration.<\/p>\n

Among the provisions is an assessment that internet pornography is a \u201cpublic health crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cPornography, 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\u2019s safety and wellbeing,\u201d the amendment stated.<\/p>\n

An amendment offered by the Family Research Council\u2019s Tony Perkins in the subcommittee on healthcare, education, and crime offered support for the controversial practice of \u201cconversion therapy\u201d for children who identify as LGBT.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support the right of parents to determine the proper treatment or therapy, for their minor children,\u201d the amendment said. Perkins originally drafted a more explicit embrace of the practice, but amended the text after consultations with top RNC officials. Perkins\u2019 amendment, which passed the subcommittee and subsequently the full committee, also calls for legislation to require parental consent for minor women to cross state lines for the purposes of obtaining an abortion.<\/p>\n

The subcommittee strengthened the platform\u2019s language in opposition to same-sex marriage. The initial draft circulated late Sunday to committee members stated: \u201cOur laws and our government\u2019s regulations should recognize marriage as the union of one man and one woman and actively promote married family life as the basis of a stable and prosperous society. For that reason, as explained elsewhere In this platform, we do not accept the Supreme Court\u2019s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the States.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Annie Dickerson, a New York delegate and longtime confidante to GOP billionaire Paul Singer, who has bankrolled an effort to push back against the social conservative planks, was the most ardent voice in opposition on the committee, repeatedly sparring with Perkins and other members.<\/p>\n

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\u2019s language on same-sex marriage to allow for a range of view-points on the issue, as opposed to the strong rejecting in the initial draft. \u201cAll I ask today is that you include me and people like me,\u201d she said, fighting back tears. Hoff\u2019s amendment failed by a roughly 3-1 margin. It was not immediately clear whether it has the support of 28 of the committee\u2019s members, which is the threshold at which a minority report can be brought before the full convention next week.<\/p>\n

The subcommittee also considered several \u201cbathroom\u201d amendments following the ongoing controversy in North Carolina which requires transgender individuals to use bathrooms as their birth gender, rather than how they identify.<\/p>\n

The original draft of the platform included language condemning the Obama administration\u2019s efforts to force schools to allow students to use restrooms conforming with their gender identity. \u201cTheir edict to the States concerning restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities is at once illegal, ominous, and ignores privacy issues,\u201d the draft stated. \u201cWe salute the several States which have filed suit against it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The subcommittee toughened the language with an explicit call for action to reverse the Obama action.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support and encourage the common sense practice of protecting public safety and personal privacy by limiting access to restrooms, locker rooms, and similar facilities based on biological gender,\u201d the subcommittee language stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this takes us to a dark place,\u201d Dickerson said. \u201cIt shrinks our tent. We should be about addition not subtraction,\u201d she added. West Virginia National Committeewoman Melody Potter disagreed, speaking in favor of amendments to echo the North Carolina law, which has sparked a backlash in the state, \u201cnobody wants to discriminate against anybody, but I think it\u2019s an issue of safety.\u201d The measure ultimately passed the subcommittee.<\/p>\n

But at the meeting of the full committee later Monday, the measure was rolled back, ostensibly as a technical change to delete a duplicate phrase.<\/p>\n

An amendment that sought to argue that gay marriage \u201csubverts child\u2019s rights to biological parent\u201d drew condemnation from the moderate members, including an audible gasp of, \u201cHello, what was that?\u201d The committee also considered an amendment calling for allowing the teaching of the Bible as part of American History, which failed before the full group.<\/p>\n

The separate subcommittee on Restoring Constitutional Government approved its own language opposing same-sex marriage designed to dovetail with the language from the health committee, said author and GOP lawyer Jim Bopp said.<\/p>\n

An aide to Donald Trump, Michael Biundo, was in the room as the subcommittee met, but didn\u2019t offer any guidance or input. Perkins told reporters that Trump\u2019s campaign was allowing the committee to work autonomously, calling it a break from the practice of previous presumptive nominees who have been more invested in the platform discussions.<\/p>\n

The full platform committee is set to take up the reports from the subcommittees later Monday and Tuesday, with the final platform expected to be set Tuesday afternoon. The full committee is made up of a man and woman from each of the 56 delegations\u2014all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0ZEKE J MILLER \/ CLEVELAND The Republican Party\u2019s platform is taking a turn for the right. As GOP delegates gather in Cleveland to formulate the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":353,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-politics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.gopplaybook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/2018-03-01_15-07-06.jpg?fit=809%2C459&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8VBh7-2X","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":179,"url":"https:\/\/www.gopplaybook.com\/?p=179","url_meta":{"origin":183,"position":0},"title":"Republican Official Says Gays Should Be Purged From GOP, Blames Homosexuality On Satan","author":"Donnie","date":"February 7, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"By Ashley Woods A new candidate for a Michigan seat on the Republican National Committee wants gays \u201cpurged\u201d from the GOP and claims homosexuality is a \u201cperversion\u201d created by Satan himself. 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