Texas Republican Party Approves 2004 Platform - Calls for Return of Plaques

 

June 4, 2004, 5:17PM
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Associated Press

 

The Republican Party of Texas approved its 2004 state platform at its convention today. Among the provisions in the platform are:

 

--Support for "the traditional definition of marriage as a God-ordained, legal and moral commitment only between a natural man and a natural woman."

 

--Support for state legislation that would make it a felony to issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple and for any civil official to perform a marriage ceremony for a same-sex couple.

 

--Support for protection of all "innocent human life" from fertilization until natural death; urging the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion.

 

--Opposition to government action to restrict, prohibit or remove from public display the Ten Commandments or other religious symbols.

 

--Denouncement of "any unconstitutional act of judicial tyranny that would demand removal of the words 'One Nation Under God' from the Pledge of Allegiance."

 

--Support for adoption of "American English" as the official language of Texas and the United States.

 

--Restoration of plaques honoring the Confederate Widow's Pension Fund contribution that were removed from the Texas Supreme Court and other state buildings.

 

--Support for legislation to allow forcible rape to be punished by the death penalty.

 

--Opposition to the legalization of sodomy. The platform states that sodomy "tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases."

--Support for a state school choice policy that allows "maximum freedom of choice in public, private or parochial education for all children."