LAS VEGAS, NV, April 15, 2014 (LifeSiteNews.com) — The Nevada GOP has conceded the battles on marriage and abortion, voting to remove both issues from the party platform for electoral reasons.
At its Saturday convention, Republican Party delegates voted to eliminate support for traditional marriage and unborn life in the party platform. The decision was made, according to State Party Chairman Michael McDonald, because “the party is going” towards “inclusion, not exclusion.” Other Republicans on the platform committee were reported to have wanted to avoid social issues in 2014 because, according to one member, “the issue was how can we back out of people's personal lives.”
“We need to focus on issues where we can have an impact,” Dave Hockaday told ReviewJournal.com.
Concerns about Supreme Court and other court decisions on abortion and marriage also made Republicans shy about addressing the two issues.
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Delegates at the convention are picked among attendees at precinct meetings, which consist of local activists coming together to send representatives to the state party. This often means those who are most actively involved in the party are representing the interests of their precinct.
The Nevada GOP's decision stands in stark contrast to the Republican National Committee, which has renewed its focus on its pro-life platform in 2014 and includes both planks in its own platform. The RNC did not respond to multiple requests for comment about the Nevada party's decision.
It appears the decision was influenced by Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval's decision to not defend the state's marriage amendment. While Sandoval had previously stood up for the constitutional amendment, he said it is “clear that this case is no longer defensible in court.” His statement came after a 9th Circuit Court decision declaring that sexual orientation cannot be the sole factor for taking a potential juror out of a pool of candidates.