Meeting in Cleveland on Monday,
Republican officials blocked an effort to soften the GOP's opposition
to same-sex marriage.
The 112-member committee drafting the
Republican Party's policy platform also overwhelmingly approved
language in support of state laws that prohibit transgender people
from using the bathroom of their choice.
In 2012, Republicans added language to
the platform calling court rulings striking down state marriage bans
“an assault on the foundations of our society.”
Billionaire Republican Paul E. Singer's
group, the American Unity Fund, is leading the effort to tone down
the platform's anti-LGBT rhetoric.
According to various reports, Singer
has invested at least $5 million on the effort.
Rachel Hoff, who declared herself the
committee's first openly gay member, offered the marriage resolution,
which called for removing all the language in support of heterosexual
marriage and replacing it with “respect for all families.”
Hoff emotionally told the committee
that “freedom means freedom for everyone.”
Nearly 20 percent of the committee
voted for Hoff's proposal.