Does Michael Steele Want to Criminalize Homosexuality?

by Michael Jones · 2010-06-30 21:07:00 UTC
Topics:

Michael SteeleAs head of the Republican National Committee (RNC), Michael Steele sure wields a lot of influence. Yes, he's put his foot in his mouth on more than one occasion as head of the RNC, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he's one of the foremost talking heads and leaders in the GOP.

So it's no wonder that folks are wondering what Michael Steele has to say about the party platform of the Texas GOP. It was released a few weeks ago, and it might just be filled with some of the most anti-gay sentiments in the country.

Among the calls of the Texas GOP include:

  • suggesting that gay people should not be allowed to have children;'

  • wanting to recriminalize sodomy;

  • suggesting that straight people who officiate anything that can be construed as a gay wedding be sent to prison;

  • labeling homosexuality as something that "tears at the fabric of society."

Sounds a little oppressive, right? Not to mention quite un-American. That's why several groups, including the Human Rights Campaign, are out with a call to Michael Steele, urging him as one of the senior leaders in the Republican Party to repudiate this Texas GOP platform.

Steele owes it to Republicans to do so. Much has been made about how the Republican Party wants to become the "big tent" party, or the party that prizes individual liberty. Nothing strikes against those wishes more than this Texas GOP platform, which looks like a party platform more fit for the year 1810 than 2010. Will Michael Steele really stand idly by and say nothing, while the Republican Party in the biggest state in the country openly talks about arresting gay people, and putting straight people who support gay rights in jail?

Texas, of course, isn't the only state making headlines for its statewide Republican Party's position on gay rights. Montana is trying to get into the swing of things as well, with a 2010 party platform that includes calling for the criminalization of homosexuality, too.

Nobody's accusing Michael Steele of contributing to these backwards policies. But the longer he remains silent about efforts on the statewide level to criminalize homosexuality, the longer it looks like a tacit endorsement of these kinds of platforms from the national GOP. And while the Republican Party is definitely looking for a new road map, given the thumpings they took at the ballot box in 2006 and 2008, pushing for the recriminalization of homosexuality surely can't be it.

Send Michael Steele a message today, urging him to condemn these efforts. As the Human Rights Campaign asks, "Does the Texas Republican Party speak for the National Republican Committee?"

Only Michael Steele has the answer to that. And it's time for him to come clean with a response.

Photo credit: Republican Party of Shelby County

Michael Jones is a Change.org Editor. He has worked in the field of human rights communications for a decade, most recently for Harvard Law School.
PREVIOUS STORY:
Is it Wrong to Prevent Lesbian Babies?
NEXT STORY:
Bullied high schooler convinces MPAA to change ‘Bully’ rating to “PG-13”

COMMENTS (14)

    Comment Policy

    · All fields are required to comment.

    [X]

    Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the campaign on Change.org. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments which, as determined solely in our discretion: (1) are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; (2) include content solely intended to personally attack the campaign creator, (3) are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them; and/or (4) violate our terms of service and/or privacy policy. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion. Please also be advised that: (A) we do not actively curate and/or monitor in any manner whatsoever the comments made on the Change.org platform, and (B) the creator of each campaign on Change.org may remove any comment at her/his/its discretion.