North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, a Republican, visited Twitter on Thursday to condemn certain provisions on the Republican Party state platform that made highly controversial claims on LGBT issues.
The statements were included in a resolution on the party’s opposition to the “Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Against Discrimination” (SOGI) bills.
The platform was approved by a vote by mail in April and addressed a wide range of issues, not just those related to the party’s position in the LBGT movement. But many, in addition to the governor, opposed those lines.
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“As I have long said, all North Dakotans deserve to be treated equally and live free of discrimination. There is no room for hurtful and divisive rhetoric in NDGOP resolutions,” said Burgum. “We can respect the liberties of others without disrespecting or discriminating against the LGBT members of our state and our party, whom we support.”
The resolution was intended to show party opposition to adding sexual orientation or gender identity to protected classes such as race, a generally standard position among Republicans across the country. It also included uncontroversial statements, such as that the party is against discrimination from a place of “hate”. In addition, he noted that some versions of the SOGI bills “criminalize not using certain preferred pronouns.” But there were a number of other statements in the resolution that caused an uproar.
A line says that “[m]Any LGBT practice is not healthy and dangerous, sometimes it endangers or shortens life, and sometimes it infects society in general. “
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Another reading: “[R]esearch has shown that the causes of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) compulsions are primarily developmental and non-genetic as in color and gender. “
“The SOGI bills seek to appease those who feel uncomfortable as a result of their gender dysphoria,” said another, “by compromising the potential comfort and safety of an undetermined number of innocent people.”
A separate line warned that SOGI laws could “empower” gay or transgender people “to take up guardianship positions often about parental objections influencing their emotions and therefore recruiting for their styles. of life”.
“The @NDGOP believes that NoDakotans like me are only interested in recruiting youth for a lifestyle, protecting voyeurs from the bathroom and infecting society,” said Joshua Boschee, the leader of the House of Minority North Dakota, in a tweet on Wednesday. “Is this how my legislative colleagues feel? Is this how Governor @DougBurgum feels? If not, say something and do something about it!”
Burgum posted his tweet just hours after Boschee’s message, and Boschee thanked “@NDGOP lawmakers who have started speaking out against this nasty language on their party’s platform.”
The North Dakota Democratic Party said the resolution was “troubling but not surprising,” in a statement reported by KX News.
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Dakota also intervened.
“If these policies do not actually reflect North Dakota, what are constituents of all political parties doing to address this and address the inclusive status of LGBTQ + and Two Spirit people?” the organization said in a tweet.
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State Republican Party Executive Director Corby Kemmer issued a statement on Wednesday apologizing for the language in that resolution, which was first reported by the Fargo-Moorhead Forum on Wednesday.
“The resolutions were presented for a positive or negative vote, and no resolution was voted on individually,” Kemmer said.
He went on to say that the delegates wanted “to defend individual and religious liberties”, but that “this language falls far short of that goal.”
Kemmer said the resolution would be reconsidered at a “future meeting.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
