CA GOP Proposes Update On Marriage, Right To Life; Hard 'No' In RivCo

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — The California Republican Party's attempt to woo more socially moderate voters is getting a thumbs down from some Riverside County GOP members.

During the Aug. 24 Riverside County Republican Party Central Committee general meeting, members took a stand against proposed CAGOP platform amendments that soften hardline rhetoric about family, marriage and abortion.

"Upon review and comparison of our current platform language to the proposed amended language, we quickly realized that the platform was drastically being transformed, especially as it relates to the issues of life and marriage," said Samantha Sobarzo, chairwoman of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Riverside County.

Sobarzo, along with RPRC Central Committee member Louisa Millington, drafted a resolution supporting the CAGOP's existing platform — without the proposed amendments. The resolution was adopted by RPRC Central Committee members, and some local Republican organizations — like the Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly, and the East Valley Republican Women Patriots — are backing the move.

Under the heading of "Family," the existing CAGOP platform states, "We support the two-parent family as the best environment for raising children, and therefore believe that it is important to define marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The Supreme Court's ruling cannot and must not be used to coerce a church or religious institution into performing marriages that their faith does not recognize. We believe public policy and education should not be exploited to advocate or teach any social or political agenda."

The proposed CAGOP platform amendment strikes the sole definition of marriage and broadens the scope of what constitutes a family unit.

"We support the family unit as the best environment for raising children, but most importantly affirm that a loving, safe home for all children should be our society's top priority," the platform amendment reads. "Religious institutions play a pivotal role in strengthening both traditional marriages and families. Families should be protected and empowered to make decisions that are consistent with their values, beliefs, and faith."

On the topic of "Right to Life," the proposed amendment distills the topic into two short sentences: "We value protecting innocent life and want to see the number of abortions reduced. We support adoption as an alternative to abortion and call on lawmakers to reduce the bureaucratic burden placed on adoptive couples."

In the existing platform, the "Right to Life" section is significantly longer, with such absolutes as "The California Republican Party is the party that protects innocent life because we believe life begins at conception and ends at natural death." The existing language also states, among other things, "abortion is a matter that should be left to the people through their elected representatives."

Based in Sacramento, the CAGOP is an affiliate of the U.S. Republican Party.

Palm Desert-based East Valley Republican Women Patriots touts itself as the nation's largest GOP women's club. Its president, Joy Miedecke, released a statement Monday about the local organization's support for the RPRC resolution.

"As president of the East Valley Republican Women Patriots and as a delegate to the Central Committee, I proudly voted in favor of the resolution," she said. "We have worked closely with Ms. Sobarzo and Ms. Millington and support their ongoing efforts to retain the principles that distinguish our Republican Party as protecting life and promoting the traditional family structure."

The Murrieta Temecula Republican Assembly unanimously voted to adopt the RPRC resolution on Aug. 25.

"The RPRC voted to keep pro-life and marriage between one man and one woman in the state platform, and the MTRA voted to back them up," said MTRA President Bob Kowell.

The amendments, put forward by the CAGOP Platform Drafting Committee, are slated to be voted on during the last weekend of September at the CAGOP Fall Convention in Anaheim.

Below is the full RPRC resolution opposing the CAGOP platform amendments:

Whereas, the existing California Republican Party Platform contains language that adequately reflects our Party's conservative values as it relates to issues of marriage and the right to life; and

Whereas, the current Amended Platform draft, as set forth by the CAGOP Platform Drafting Committee, removes vital language which drastically transforms the Platform and fails to capture the essence of our conservative values by making terms used within the Family and Right to Life sections overbroad, vague, and ripe for misinterpretation and misuse; and

Whereas, adopting such amendments would be detrimental to the Republican Party brand and outreach capacities as it would further disillusion voters and hinder outreach to Christian, Hispanic, and other communities who would effectively be left without a political home; now, therefore, be it

Resolved that the Republican Party of Riverside County opposes the drastic transformation of the CAGOP Platform and calls on members and delegates of the CAGOP to reject any amendment of the Right to Life and Family sections of the existing CAGOP Platform.