RNC chair Reince Priebus
Much was made of the fact that the Republican National Committee
"quietly" shelved two anti-gay platform resolutions earlier this month, likely because they were just too overt.
Now we get a real taste of the new and improved RNC—wrapping anti-LGBT discrimination in the cloak of "religious liberty." Zack Ford has the details on the latest resolution adopted by the RNC:
The RNC wants Congress to approve the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA). This bill, which the ACLU has called “a Pandora’s Box of taxpayer-funded discrimination against same-sex couples and their children,” would prevent the federal government from acting against businesses and non-profits that discriminate against same-sex married couples. This would mean that government workers could refuse to perform their duties, and businesses and organizations — including those that operate with support of taxpayer money — would be free to discriminate.
FADA
has been introduced in Congress, but even John Boehner has had the good sense so far not to allow a vote on the legislation. That could change, however, now that the RNC has thrown its full weight behind it.
The RNC went to the trouble of listing more than a dozen people who "are losing their livelihoods or are being disciplined for courageously dissenting from gay marriage orthodoxy."
Head below the fold to find out who these courageous individuals are.
From ThinkProgress:
• Melissa Klein is the Oregon baker who refused to serve a same-sex couple.
• Kelvin Cochran was the Atlanta fire chief who distributed his self-published book to other employees calling homosexuality a “sexual perversion” that is “vile, vulgar, and inappropriate.”
• Barronelle Stutzman — whose name was misspelled in the resolution — is the Washington florist who refused to serve a same-sex couple.
• Angela McCaskill is the Gallaudet University chief diversity officer who was scrutinized for signing a petition to undo marriage equality in Maryland.
• Brendan Eich was the Mozilla executive who resigned after boycotts because of his donations to the Proposition 8 campaign in California.
• Frank Turek lost work as a corporate consultant after his anti-gay views — including that being gay is “illegitimate,” “changeable behavior,” and a “road to destruction” — were exposed.
• “Scott McAdams” — incorrectly referenced as such by Maggie Gallagher in the National Review — likely refers to John McAdams, a Marquette University professor who faced professional consequences for taking an anti-gay student’s side during a dispute between the student and a teaching assistant.
• When Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) ran for governor of Minnesota in 2010, his anti-gay views and associations with Bradlee Dean of the anti-gay hate ministry You Can Run But You Cannot Hide were publicly scrutinized, and after a national boycott, Target eventually apologized for giving $150,000 to his campaign.
• Jack Phillips is the Colorado baker who refused to serve a same-sex couple.
• Elaine Huguenin is the New Mexico photographer who refused to serve a same-sex couple.
• Betty and Richard Odgaard are the owners of an Iowa art gallery and wedding venue who refused to serve a same-sex couple.
• Cynthia and Robert Gifford are the owners of a New York farm and wedding venue who refused to serve a same-sex couple.