As the Republican National Convention kick off in Cleveland today, the RNC is likely to ratify what has been described as the most anti-LGBTQ platform in its history. The platform, which has shocked some of the GOP’s most ardent supporters, endorses so-called conversion therapy, calls for the banning same sex marriage, rejects LGBTQ families and bans transgender and gender non-conforming people from using restrooms that match their gender identity.
The National LGBTQ Task Force Action condemned the platform issuing the following statement:
“The Republican Party’s 2016 platform is designed to destroy LGBTQ lives, families and futures. It’s a smorgasbord of debunked practices and failed policies, prepared by extremists who clearly need a reality check,” said Russell Roybal, Deputy Executive Director, National LGBTQ Task Force Action Fund. “LGBTQ people are here — we can’t be ‘converted’. We can get married — it’s a constitutional right. We build families — we exist in every community in our nation. We go to the bathroom — it’s a physical imperative. We are people of color – deserving to be protected by laws not harmed by them. We are people of faith — we are welcomed by thousands of faith communities across the nation, who object to faith being used as an excuse to discriminate. And, as we have seen in poll after poll, the vast majority of the public believe that discrimination against LGBTQ people is wrong and that everyone should be able to access the promise of America. It’s hard to see anything that advances freedom, justice and equality for LGBTQ people in this document.”
ah, if only it was true