Texas state senator: LGBT Republicans push ‘abominable sex education,’ ‘unnatural sex’
It was Young Republicans against old Republicans this weekend in Austin.
As always, old Republicans won.
With state Sen. Bob Hall, 77, saying LGBT groups promote “unnatural sex,” party officials once again turned away the predominantly gay and lesbian Log Cabin Republicans.
The Log Cabin groups were asking to become an official party affiliate, or at least to have a hospitality booth at state conventions.
They had support from the state’s Young Republicans, from the Liberty Caucus and also from new party rock star U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw, 35, of Houston.
Young Republicans wrote letters saying party activists are “stronger together.” A party official from Galveston called the 2020 election an “all hands on deck” situation.
But faith-and-values conservative Steven Hotze, 69, of Houston sent emails accusing the Log Cabin Republicans and other LGBT groups of promoting “immoral and perverted sexual proclivities” and children’s events with drag performers.
A few years ago, Hotze compared LGBT Americans to “termites” eating away at the nation.
Such responses are in part backlash against the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding same-sex marriage nationwide, said state Log Cabin chairman Michael Baker of Houston.
“They’re playing on people’s fears because of their frustration,” he said.
“Whatever happens involving the gay community, we get blamed. We become the dartboard for things we don’t even agree with.”
He spoke before state officials tabled the request Saturday in Austin.
In a committee meeting Friday, the mostly older members of the State Republican Executive Committee had been icy, because even though LGBT Republicans support the party’s listed principles, Log Cabin members disagree with the state party’s opposition to same-sex marriage.
Hall, addressing the committee as a guest, went further.
“They don’t have the basic belief in the God of the Bible that we are founded on,” he said.
“I could not find anywhere on their website an expression of their faith in God like you will find on a Republican website.”
Look, I can click around and find plenty of Republican websites that don’t include prayers or religious messages.
But maybe it’s not that way out in East Texas where Hall lives.
Hall also brought up a Houston debate over enforcing equal rights for gay and lesbian residents, and also the attempt to pass a “bathroom bill” punishing transgender Texans over toilet use.
(That bill was a defiant reaction to the federal gay marriage decision. It didn’t pass, and so far, there is no public outcry over toilets.)
Hall went on: “This abominable sex education that goes on in our schools where they’re trying to push unnatural sex as natural — we are not on the same side of that issue!”
Baker promoted party unity.
“Our purpose was to unify Republicans and go into 2020 as a unified party for these elections across the state of Texas,” he said.
Young Republicans chairman Hayden Padgett of Plano had written asking party officials to support and accept “anyone who would join us in our cause, no matter their race, creed, religion or lifestyle.”
(Generally, young Republicans believe the party stands for individual liberty. A mostly older faction believes the party stands for — in Hotze’s words — “restoring our nation’s Christian heritage.”)
In Crenshaw’s recommendation letter, the congressman wrote that Log Cabin Republicans “have worked tirelessly for conservative causes and candidates” in purple Houston, where Republicans need every vote.
“For our party to win at the local, state and national levels, we need to embrace all that support our conservative policy and principles. Disagreements over certain policy issues should not be enough to exclude a group.”
The debate over gay and lesbian Republicans is not new. For years. Republicans have divided along age.
In 1998, the wild-eyed Westboro Church-like reaction to the idea of LGBT Republican convention booth was the topic of a short documentary video still on YouTube, “On the Front Lines.” It’s set mainly at a convention in Fort Worth.
The Young Republicans of that era are now the old Republicans.
This story was originally published February 1, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
