LGBTQ issues? The horrors of the GOP platform

by Sara Ritsch
Op. Ed.

The attack on transgender individuals by limiting their bathroom and locker room access, the Orlando shooting, the threats to same-sex marriage and the outing of so many gender identities have made 2016 one of the most emotionally taxing years the LGBT community has ever seen.

Finally, through coded language, religious exemptions and freedom of speech, that same harassment and discrimination has leaked through the pages of the Republican National Committee’s platform for the 2016 election.

Getting ‘straight’ to the point, the Grand Ol’ Party platform states:

“We assert every citizen’s right to apply religious values to public policy and the right of faith-based organizations to participate fully in public programs without renouncing their beliefs, removing religious symbols, or submitting to government-imposed hiring practices. We oppose government discrimination against businesses due to religious views.”

Here, the Republican platform discernably says businesses should maintain their right to discriminate and withhold services according to their religious beliefs. That means us: the feared, the queers.

“We support the First Amendment right of freedom of association of the Boy Scouts of America and other service organizations whose values are under assault and condemn the State blacklisting of religious groups which decline to arrange adoptions by same-sex couples.”

If there is one thing the LGBT community is known for, it’s not assault. This rhetoric sets our community up as the oppressors, not as the oppressed, heavily implying that the LGBT community and our allies oppose civil rights and religious liberty.

“We condemn the hate campaigns, threats of violence, and vandalism by proponents of same-sex marriage against advocates of traditional marriage and call for a federal investigation into attempts to deny religious believers their civil rights,” the Republican Party continues.

The court-ordered redefinition of marriage to include same-sex is appalling to the GOP, as stated in their platform as “dangerous” and a “serious threat”. The platform states, “This [redefinition of marriage] is more than a matter of warring legal concepts and ideals. It is an assault on the foundations of our society, challenging the institution which, for thousands of years in virtually every civilization, has been entrusted with the rearing of children and the transmission of cultural values.”

The platform persists, highlighting the enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act, which may affirm the right of States and the federal government not to recognize same-sex relationships licensed in other jurisdictions, further limiting the LGBT scope of freedoms.

“The current Administration’s open defiance of this constitutional principle—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— makes a mockery of the President’s inaugural oath,” the platform states.

“We reaffirm our support for a Constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We applaud the citizens of the majority of States which have enshrined in their constitutions the traditional concept of marriage, and we support the campaigns underway in several other States to do so.”

The good ol’ boys state directly that a home is not a home without a father and a mother, united under God and the Constitution in holy matrimony. Although they say that they both recognize and honor the “courageous efforts of those who bear the many burdens of parenting alone,” they continue to encourage nuclear families. But what about the many single mothers and fathers who are independently succeeding in the rearing of their children?

“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,” the GOP says to these parents.

“The institution of marriage is the foundation of civil society. Its success as an institution will determine our success as a nation. It has been proven by both experience and endless social science studies that traditional marriage is best for children. Children raised in intact married families are more likely to attend college, are physically and emotionally healthier, are less likely to use drugs or alcohol, engage in crime, or get pregnant outside of marriage.”

I just want to know what an “intact” family is, really. I was raised in a nuclear home, but I have many peers who were raised by single (and gay) parents and who have turned out exponentially more successful and societally influential than I have.

These efforts to comprise childrearing into laws have no bearing on our progressive society, in which multitudes of different tactics coalesce to form productive, influential adults.

And yet, they continue onward with their homegrown advice for sex education. “We renew our call for replacing ‘family planning’ programs for teens with abstinence education which teaches abstinence until marriage as the responsible and respected standard of behavior.

“Abstinence from sexual activity is the only protection that is 100 percent effective against out-of-wedlock pregnancies and sexually-transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS when transmitted sexually. It is effective, science-based, and empowers teens to achieve optimal health outcomes and avoid risks of sexual activity.”

But what about the youth who use that lack of safe-sex education and get pregnant?

“We oppose school-based clinics that provide referrals, counseling, and related services for abortion and contraception. We support keeping federal funds from being used in mandatory or universal mental health, psychiatric, or socioemotional screening programs.”

You mean the federal government cannot support these young people through therapy? Well, maybe not thatkind of therapy for thosekinds of people.

Coded language distracts the average reader from the subject of conversion therapy. But in the statement by the platform, full rights are advocated for parents who may insist on reparative counseling for children with alternative gender identities or sexual orientations.

It reads, “We...support the right of parents to consent to medical treatment for their children, including mental health treatment, drug treatment, and treatment involving pregnancy, contraceptives and abortion.”

However, the Ethics Committee of the American Counseling Association (ACA) suggests that ethical counselors avoid conversion therapy at all costs and, if they intend to follow through anyway, fully inform clients of “the unproven nature of the treatment and the potential risks,” taking “steps to minimize harm to clients.”

But the GOP platform continues, stating that all medical professionals should also be able to deny their services to anyone according to their religious beliefs.

“No healthcare professional or organization should ever be required to perform, provide for, withhold, or refer for a medical service against their conscience,” it reads. “We support the ability of all organizations to provide, purchase, or enroll in healthcare coverage consistent with their religious, moral or ethical convictions without discrimination or penalty.”

The ACA has also outwardly opposed this ideal, saying that laws such as Tennessee’s anti-LGBT counseling bills, Senate Bill 1556 and House Bill 1840, were “in clear violation” of the ACA’s Code of Ethics.

This GOP platform is being called the most anti-LGBTQ in history. The progressive world has spoken, but the Republican Party is shouting obscenities over our pleas. And to this, I think our community should respond with a resounding, “F--- that.”

The Gayly – August 6, 2016 @ 11 a.m.