Jul 19, 2016

Cleveland, OH -- The 2016 Republican National Convention adopted what is described as the most conservative platform in history.

“This platform includes a strong affirmation of life, marriage, and religious liberty. The platform calls for the defunding of Planned Parenthood and the repeal of ObamaCare. It calls for the repeal of the 1954 Johnson amendment that seeks to prevent churches and pastors from endorsing candidates. The platform rejects the LGBT agenda and calls for action against activist judges,” said Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman. “Paul Singer’s attempt to push same-sex marriage and the LGBT agenda was soundly defeated,” said Staver.

Here are a few highlights of the GOP platform:

National Defense

"We believe that our nation is most secure when the president and the administration prioritize readiness, recruitment, and retention, rather than using the military to advance a social or political agenda. Military readiness must not be sacrificed on the altar of politically correct social agendas, which this administration has done."

Marriage

"The American family is the foundation of civil society and the cornerstone is marriage, the union of one man and one woman...we do not accept the Supreme Court's redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the States."

Health Care

"Any honest agenda for improving health care must start with repeal of the dishonestly named Affordable Care Act of 2010: Obamacare. It weighs like the dead hand of the past upon American medicine."

Protecting Human Life

"The Constitution's guarantee that no one can "be deprived of life, liberty or property" deliberately echoes the Declaration of Independence's proclamation that "all" are "endowed by their Creator" with the inalienable right to life. Accordingly, we assert the sanctity of human life and affirm that the unborn child has a fundamental right to life which cannot be infringed. We support a human life amendment to the Constitution and legislation to make clear that the Fourteenth Amendment's protections apply to children before birth. We oppose the use of public funds to perform or promote abortion or to fund organizations, like Planned Parenthood."

Title IX

“We emphatically support the original, authentic meaning of Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. It affirmed that ‘no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.’ … That same provision of law is now being used by bureaucrats – and by the current president of the United States – to impose a social and cultural revolution upon the American people by wrongly redefining sex discrimination to include sexual orientation, and other categories…. Their edict to the States concerning restrooms, locker rooms and other facilities is at once illegal, dangerous, and ignores privacy issues.”

Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.