Marriage, Right To Life: CA GOP Proposes 'Drastic' Platform Changes

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The California Republican Party's apparent attempt to woo more socially moderate voters is getting a thumbs down from some who believe the state GOP should be "protecting life and promoting the traditional family structure."

Others, however, believe the party must shift if it wants Republicans to get a stronger toehold in the Democrat-led Golden State. Toward that end, a proposed CAGOP platform overhaul softens hardline rhetoric about family, marriage and abortion. It is slated to be voted on during the last weekend of September at the party's fall convention in Anaheim.

The Riverside County Republican Party is one organization at odds with the CAGOP proposal. During the Aug. 24 Riverside County Republican Party Central Committee general meeting, members took a stand against the CAGOP platform amendments tied to historically conservative values by adopting a resolution calling for the state GOP to maintain existing platform language about marriage and right to life.

"Upon review and comparison of our current platform language to the proposed amended language, we quickly realized that the platform was drastically being transformed, especially as it relates to the issues of life and marriage,” said Samantha Sobarzo, chairwoman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Riverside County.

Sobarzo, along with RPRC Central Committee member Louisa Millington, drafted the resolution supporting the CAGOP's existing platform. Some local Republican organizations — like the Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly, and the East Valley Republican Women Patriots — backed the move.

But Jessica Levinson, an election law professor at Loyola Law School, told the Los Angeles Times earlier this month that the CAGOP's "seismic shift" in adopting a more centrist platform is "born out of practical necessity."

"Look at what’s happening not just in California but in much more conservative states, realizing antiabortion, anti-same-sex marriage stances are no longer tenable,” Levinson told the Times. “I think it shows their acknowledgment that the sand has shifted underneath their feet.”

Charles Moran, a Los Angeles County delegate and member of the CAGOP platform drafting committee, told the Times the party must move away from rigid orthodoxy “to give our California Republican candidates a fighting chance.”

“We need a party platform that empowers our candidates, not one that serves as an albatross around their neck,” said Moran, who also serves as president of Log Cabin Republicans.

The platform amendments are striking. Under the heading of "Family," the existing CAGOP platform states, "We support the two-parent family as the best environment for raising children, and therefore believe that it is important to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The Supreme Court’s ruling cannot and must not be used to coerce a church or religious institution into performing marriages that their faith does not recognize. We believe public policy and education should not be exploited to advocate or teach any social or political agenda."

The proposed CAGOP platform amendment eliminates the sole definition of marriage and broadens the scope of what constitutes a family unit.

"We support the family unit as the best environment for raising children, but most importantly affirm that a loving, safe home for all children should be our society's top priority," the platform amendment reads. "Religious institutions play a pivotal role in strengthening both traditional marriages and families. Families should be protected and empowered to make decisions that are consistent with their values, beliefs, and faith."

On the topic of "Right to Life," the proposed amendment distills the topic into two short sentences: "We value protecting innocent life and want to see the number of abortions reduced. We support adoption as an alternative to abortion and call on lawmakers to reduce the bureaucratic burden placed on adoptive couples."

In the existing platform, the "Right to Life" section is significantly longer, with such absolutes as "The California Republican Party is the party that protects innocent life because we believe life begins at conception and ends at natural death." The existing language also states, among other things, "abortion is a matter that should be left to the people through their elected representatives."

Based in Sacramento, the CAGOP is an affiliate of the U.S. Republican Party.

Palm Desert-based East Valley Republican Women Patriots touts itself as the nation’s largest GOP women's club. Its president, Joy Miedecke, released a statement Aug. 28 calling for adherence to existing platform language.

"We have worked closely with Ms. Sobarzo and Ms. Millington and support their ongoing efforts to retain the principles that distinguish our Republican Party as protecting life and promoting the traditional family structure," Miedecke said.

The Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly unanimously voted to adopt the RPRC resolution on Aug. 25.

"The RPRC voted to keep pro-life and marriage between one man and one woman in the state platform, and the MTRA voted to back them up,” said MTRA President Bob Kowell.

Dan Schnur, a politics professor at USC, Pepperdine and UC Berkeley, told the Times the CAGOP has a decision to make.

“The question they’re going to wrestle with is this: What is the primary purpose of a political party,” Schnur said. “If it’s to reflect the ideological passions of their most loyal members, then they shouldn’t make these changes. But if it’s to win more elections, then it’s probably something they need to think about.”