The Republican National Committee voted unanimously to re-up its stance against gay marriage Friday, indicating that the RNC’s recent reassessment of its strategy on social issues doesn’t necessarily bring with it a change of position on policy.
The “Resolution for Marriage and Children 2013,” introduced Wednesday at a committee meeting during the party’s spring gathering, argues that “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. … [T]he Republican National Committee affirms its support for marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
The resolution passed without debate. The RNC’s spring meeting is in Los Angeles this year, so, as Politico notes, the juxtaposition of policy and location did apparently give some party leaders pause. But that wasn’t enough to open a discussion on the resolution, which concerns an issue the party itself admits it needs to rethink.
Earlier this year, the RNC’s Growth and Opportunity report concluded that the party needed to be more inclusive on social issues in order to win voters back. The report said:
“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. If our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.”
The party also passed resolutions honoring Ron Paul, reaffirming its commitment to “cooperation with the conservative grassroots,” and vowing to uphold the “core values” of the party platform.
Here’s the full text of the “Resolution for Marriage and Children 2013,” (originally obtained by Yahoo! News):
RESOLUTION FOR MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN 2013
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.
