By Ben Johnson
The Washington Stand
One of the prime figures urging Republicans to support legislation imposing same-sex marriage on the entire country has been censured by an overwhelming majority of his state Republican Party.
The North Carolina Republican Party officially condemned Senator Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) in large part over his support for H.R. 8404, which opponents dubbed the Disrespect for Marriage Act. The sweeping federal mandate requires all 50 states to recognize any marriage legally contracted in any other state — a de facto national redefinition of marriage. Tillis not only supported the bill alongside 11 other Senate Republicans but “lobbied his GOP colleagues in Congress to vote in favor of” the bill, according to the Associated Press.
Tillis opted not to address, nor defend his actions, to delegates at the state party’s annual convention in Greensboro last Saturday, which chastised Tillis for “blatant violations of our party platform” by a whopping 799-361 vote. The measure, which needed two-thirds of attendees’ votes, passed with 25 votes to spare.
Video footage shows hundreds of delegates bursting into raucous cheers as the convention announced the vote outcome.
“Senator Tillis worked with NC Values Coalition on the Marriage Amendment for North Carolina, so it was a surprise to our coalition when he spearheaded federal recognition of same-sex marriage and voted for the so-called ‘Respect for Marriage’ bill,” Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the NC Values Coalition, told The Washington Stand. “We appealed to Senator Tillis for months to oppose the legislation, because it would not only contradict the time-honored definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman, but it would also infringe on religious liberties and would put faith-based organizations and ministries at risk. The censure was a clear message from conservatives who support traditional values that elected officials will be held accountable for their votes and actions.”
“Senator Tillis’s vote put our religious freedoms at risk and advanced the LGTQ agenda, a move North Carolina conservatives won’t forget,” Fitzgerald told TWS.
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