~Also published on Bilerico.com

In their newly unveiled 2010 Platform, the Montana GOP has included a plank (under “Crime”) which states:

We support the clear will of the people of Montana expressed by legislation to keep homosexual acts illegal.

So now all Montana Republicans are officially homophobes and bigots. Some helpful definitions:

• Homophobia: an extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and homosexual persons.
• Bigoted: expressing or characterized by prejudice and intolerance.

Really? Is this the will of the many reasonable Republicans in this state? Is this the will of Republicans who are gay (and, according to this platform plank, filled with self-loathing and irrational self-prejudice), of Republicans with LGBT family members and friends (who, according to this plank, really loathe and detest us and are really only being nice to us so they can take away our peaceful right to co-exist?), of Republicans who actually know better? Or is this the will of a cabal of unenlightened leaders who are looking to de-humanize a segment of the population?

I suspect the latter. I know many reasonable Montana Republicans- hell, I’m related to quite a few. I know that this is not their “clear will”. I know it’s not the will of my parents, my extended family, my friends and colleagues. Where did this come from? What is this “clear will” they’re talking about? Whatever it is, it’s wrong.

Oh, and by the way, the language “Keep homosexual acts illegal” is superfluous and irrelevant. The Montana Supreme Court decriminalized homosexual acts in 1997. There’s nothing to keep. Not to mention that it flies in the face of all scientific information….

So, if you’re a Republican, in Montana or elsewhere, let the leadership know that this is not okay. Even if you’re not a Republican, I think it’s important to raise your voice against this bigotry. This is not the Montana I know and love.

Do it here:

Montana Republican Party
PO Box 935
Helena, MT 59624
(406) 442-6469

Dennis Rehberg is the Montana party’s top elected official, email him: Dennis.Rehberg@mail.house.gov

Or, write on their Facebook Wall– suggested post: “take the ignorance and hate out of your platform!”

If anyone has an email address that would be appropriate for expressing our collective displeasure, please send it along….

Update: Why Montana Matters