RNC Votes For Resolution That ‘Affirms Support For Marriage As The Union Of One Man And One Woman’

by DAVID BADASH

The Republican National Committee, in what may be the first effort of its kind, just moments ago passed a resolution that re-affirms the Republican Party’s platform that marriage can only be between one man and one woman. The RNC’s committment to the platform — which passed last summer at the RNC convention — has been called into question by religious conservatives threatening to form a third party.

The resolution also included planks supporting “gun rights” and opposing abortion.

Time’s Zeke Miller reports a “resolution introduced Wednesday by Michigan committeeman Dave Agema, who came under fire last month for posting an article describing gays as ‘filthy’ on his Facebook page, passed the full RNC by a voice vote and without debate.”:

A second resolution reaffirming “core values” of the party — including opposition to same-sex marriage — was also passed.

RNC officials collected the resolutions, which were opposed privately by some committee members, together with a resolution honoring Ron Paul and another calling for a sustained investment in the U.S. space program — an effort to avoid debate on the floor.

The very fact that the vote took place was seen by some Republicans as flying in the face of one recommendation in the RNC’s Growth and Opportunity Project report.

“There is a generational difference within the conservative movement about issues involving the treatment and the rights of gays — and for many younger voters, these issues are a gateway into whether the Party is a place they want to be,” the report stated. ”If our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.”

Miller also published the resolution. Here are a few excerpts:

Whereas, the 2012 Republican Platform states, “We 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,” and “We embrace the principle that all Americans should be treated with respect and dignity,” (Renewing American Values to Build Healthy Families, Great Schools and Safe Neighborhoods, p. 31)

Whereas, the institution of marriage is the solid foundation upon which our society is built and in which children thrive; it is based on the relationship that only a man and a woman can form; and

Whereas, support for marriage has been repeatedly affirmed nationally in the 2012 Republican National Platform, through the enactment of the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, (signed into law by President Bill Clinton), and passed by the voters of 41 States including California via Proposition 8 in 2008; and

Whereas, no Act of human government can change the reality that marriage is a natural and most desirable union; especially when procreation is a goal; and

Whereas, the future of our country is children; it has been proven repeatedly that the most secure and nurturing environment in which to raise healthy well adjusted children is in a home where both mother and father are bound together in a loving marriage; and

Whereas, The U. S. Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of laws adopted to protect marriage from the unfounded accusation that support for marriage is based only on irrational prejudice against homosexuals; therefore be it

Resolved, the Republican National Committee affirms its support for marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and as the optimum environment in which to raise healthy children for the future of America; and be it further

Resolved, the Republican National Committee implores the U. S. Supreme Court to uphold the sanctity of marriage in its rulings on California’s Proposition 8 and the Federal Defense of Marriage Act.