Texas GOP Platform Insanity Version 1.0
By Byron LaMasters
The entire 2004 GOP Platform is now online here. This is the first time I've seen the entire document, so I'll be reading it and analysing it over the next few days, but Johnathan Ichikawa has a good find in it. The Texas GOP Platform says the following about the Americans with Disabilities Act:
Americans with Disabilities Act – The Party supports amendment of the Americans with Disabilities Act to exclude from its definition those persons with infectious diseases, substance addiction, learning disabilities, behavior disorders, homosexual practices and mental stress, thereby reducing abuse of the Act.
There's a slight problem though. The Americans with Disabilities Act has never included homosexuality or homosexual practices. So, basically, Texas Republicans are calling for an amendment to remove from the Americans with Disabilities Act something that does not, and has not ever existed in that Act. In fact, the 1990 law makes it very clear that homosexuality is not included in the Americans with Disabilities Act as Johnathan Ichikawa notes:
Homosexuality has never been protected by it. Nor should it be, because it's not a disability, nor does it substantially limit major life activities (although I wouldn't necessarily put it past the GOP to argue that heterosexual sex is a major life activity...). The current law is very clear on the matter. Here's 42 U.S.C. §12211(a) (on the books since 1990, the same as the rest of the ADA):
(a) Homosexuality and bisexuality.—For purposes of the definition of "disability" in section 12102(2) of this title, homosexuality and bisexuality are not impairments and as such are not disabilities under this chapter.
So why does the Texas GOP platform include REMOVING an item from the list that wasn't on it in the first place?
Hat tip to Charles as well.
It would be nice if the Texas GOP did their research before they wrote their platform, but that would be asking too much. I'll have more on the platform as I read it.
Posted by Byron LaMasters at June 23, 2004 05:59 PM
| TrackBack
Byron,
You are assuming that there is a rational explanation to the platform plank. There is none. It is simply anti-gay bigotry, which is the red meat that Rethuglican activists crave.
(I wonder if they are going to change their touchy feely bumber stickers from, "Have you hugged your child today" to "Have you bashed a fag today?")
Wow. The GOPers actually posted their platform? on their own web site? In years gone by, I found the GOP platform on, or at least linked from, the Texas Democratic Party web site... they wanted everyone to read it!
Byron, I look forward to your analysis. This should be fun...
