Bud Kennedy: Texas Republicans’ anti-gay platform switch called “damaging”

A Republican who represented Tarrant County at the party’s state convention says it was “unethical” how the state party platform was abruptly changed Saturday to directly bash LGBTQ Americans as “abnormal” and making a “lifestyle choice.” “I don’t think you have to poke people in the eye to stand on your principles,” platform committee member David Gebhart of Bedford said. He called the newly revised state Republican platform “inflammatory” and predicting it will be “damaging” to the party. Speaking to the Euless-based Northeast Tarrant County Republican Club, Gebhart said Republicans should have stuck to the hard-fought previous platform language that opposed “special legal entitlements” for LGBTQ Americans and also defended everyone’s freedom of speech and expression.

In the final hour of the four-day platform committee debate June 16 at the party convention in Houston, platform committee chairman Matt Patrick interrupted the discussion, saying he wanted to “add a short sentence.” According to a video posted by the party, Patrick moved to amend the section on “Homosexuality and Gender Issues” and begin with the sentence: “Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice.” Patrick described the “abnormal” description as based on “math.” He also blatantly lied, saying LGBTQ birth status has been “proven to be wrong.” “Not only is it not normal, it’s extremely abnormal,” said Patrick, a Dallas activist known for wasting time during the 2020 Electoral College vote by spinning a made-up conspiracy story about an imaginary Supreme Court argument. He was appointed to lead the committee by state party Chairman Matt Rinaldi of Irving. Houston Republican Jason Vaughn, the only publicly LGBTQ member of the committee, replied that calling orientation abnormal or a choice is “meant to be insulting” and does not promote the party. Gebhart, who joined the committee as a substitute when Tarrant County delegate Leigh Wambsganss of Southlake had a death in the family, spoke supporting the “less inflammatory” original language. Patrick’s amendment passed on a 17-14 vote. Gebhart tried to amend the language on the convention floor, invoking the name of grandstanding Kansas protesters known for picketing military funerals to bash LGBTQ Americans.