Indiana Republicans approve 2018 platform, includes controversial marriage language

Evansville, Ind. – Hoosier Republicans voted on the party’s 2018 platform at their state convention in Evansville Saturday afternoon but quite a few delegates questioned the party’s message of inclusiveness following an approved amendment to the document.

The room heard two arguments on this party’s manifesto for the next two years.

Originally, a committee drafted the 2018 platform similar to its 2016’s version; however it removed a line in the “Strong Families” section in the text.

The line read: we believe that strong families, based on marriage between a man and a woman.

“We continue to litigate this issue convention after convention or we can support language that supports all strong families and hold up tradition marriage as its ideal,” said one delegate in favor of removing that line.

Following a week of hearing concerns from notable Hoosier conservatives, the party’s leadership introduced a revised version of the 2018 platform to the delegation to vote on.

Version 2 kept that line from the 2016 party platform.

“The reality on the ground is most families are headed by married couples but it also recognizes that we have many diverse families,” said one delegate in favor of keeping the line.

After a voice vote, version 2 of the 2018 party platform was approved.

“I think the debate is good for the party, it shows that we’re open,” said Kyle Hupfer, Indiana Republican Party chair. “We continue to discuss and debate these things over time and the party it continuing to consider these things and we’re open to that.”

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg weighed in on the vote on Twitter:

Quick question for @indgop after today’s platform vote against marriage equality: Do you propose that our marriages be broken up? Or just stripped of legal protection? #INGOP18

— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) June 9, 2018