Wake up, Caitlyn Jenner. Donald Trump is not acting like a friend to the “T” (or any of the other letters) in LGBT and neither is the GOP — at least as far as the Republican national platform drafted this week prior to the convention.
The Huffington Post summed it up this way in a July 11 web post:
Republican delegates tasked with drafting the party’s official platform on Monday [July 11] rebuffed several efforts aimed at bringing the GOP into the 21st century — at least on paper.
Instead, GOP officials voted to reaffirm the party’s opposition to gay adoption, same-sex marriage, abortion and transgender individuals using public restrooms ― issues that generally have seen great progress in recent years.
The GOP platform committee also wrote conversion therapy protections right into the platform. And remember, public accommodations protections go much further than public restrooms; they mean you can be turned away from ordering a cheeseburger for acting or appearing trans. And that goes for shopping malls, parks, and so on.
Not to say all GOP people aren’t trying to be friends to the community, or at least friendly, or at least fair.
On Tuesday, July 12, the Log Cabin Republicans published a press release from Gregory Angelo, president of the group, stating:
There’s no way to sugar-coat this: I’m mad as hell — and I know you are, too.
Moments ago, the Republican Party passed the most anti-LGBT Platform in the Party’s 162-year history.
Opposition to marriage equality, nonsense about bathrooms, an endorsement of the debunked psychological practice of “pray the gay away” — it’s all in there.
This isn’t my GOP, and I know it’s not yours either. Heck, it’s not even Donald Trump’s! When given a chance to follow the lead of our presumptive presidential nominee and reach out to the LGBT community in the wake of the awful terrorist massacre in Orlando on the gay nightclub Pulse, the Platform Committee said NO.
BUT…now is not the time to sit around feeling sorry for ourselves. Log Cabin Republicans has been officially credentialed for the Republican National Convention, and when it convenes in Cleveland in a mere 6 days’ time I want to be able to take a stand, but we’re going to need your support to do it.
What’s more, there were Republicans right on the committee offering amendments to reflect the majority of American’s views on LGBT rights in the 21st century. People like Washington, D.C. delegate Rachel Hoff, the first openly gay member of the Republican Platform Committee, who, according to Time,
made an emotional appeal asking the committee to replace some of those sentiments with language she had crafted, stating that marriage is a fundamentally important institution and that “there are diverse and sincerely held views on marriage” within the party. “We are your daughters. We are your sons, your friends, your neighbors, your colleagues, the couple who sits next to you in church,” she said. “Freedom means freedom for everyone, including gays and lesbians … And all I ask today is you include me and those like me.” By an unofficial vote of about 30 to 82, the amendment failed.
“LGBT issues were being discussed in almost every platform subcommittee,” Log Cabin president Angelo told Time in another interview, which went on to report:
“Even if the votes didn’t necessarily go our way,[” said Angelo, “]every Republican on the platform committee is at least now aware that LGBT issues go far beyond marriage.” Transgender icon Caitlyn Jenner, who plans to appear at a brunch in Cleveland during the convention, expressed optimism about the party too, saying in a statement that, “As a proud Republican and transgender woman, I want to support courageous Republicans who advocate for LGBT freedom.”
Good luck. Seriously. Isn’t it at least just a little bit heartening to know that there a few standout stalwarts among the coming convention crowds in Cleveland, amidst all that heated, hateful rhetoric, who are trying to raise their voices for basic civil rights? … Of course, Caitlyn and Gregory and Rachel, there is one other major party candidate who’s not only eager to defend our LGBT rights but has a long, strong track record of doing exactly that. You could simply support her like she is supporting you.
