Texas Republicans have provoked an outcry after they announced that they wanted to reinstate a 150-year-old law that would criminalise homosexuality.
The state party wants sodomy to be punished with a prison sentence, stating that homosexuality “tears at the fabric of society, contributes to the breakdown of the family unit, and leads to the spread of dangerous, communicable diseases”.
“Homosexual behaviour is contrary to the fundamental, unchanging truths that have been ordained by God, recognised by our country’s founders, and shared by the majority of Texans,” the Republicans’ 2010 manifesto adds, protesting a 2003 Supreme Court decision that overturned anti-sodomy legislation dating back to 1860.
“We oppose the legalisation of sodomy. We demand that Congress exercise its authority granted by the US Constitution to withhold jurisdiction from the federal courts from cases involving sodomy,” it urges.
The state’s current ban on gay marriage should be taken one step further and made into a felony offence, Texas Republicans also suggest, with such punishment to be extended to any civil official who grants a marriage licence or performs the ceremony.
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The proposals have drawn scorn from gay rights advocates and prompted accusations that the Republican Party is being held hostage by “Christian fascists” and “ignorant homophobic bigots”.
Critics have pointed out that in attempting to criminalise sodomy — defined as oral or anal sex — Republicans are also, possibly unwittingly, targeting heterosexual couples.
“This manifesto is a sorry piece of work,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
“Criminalising the intimate lives of consenting adults and using the force of government to intimidate those who support committed couples who wish to marry is archaic, intrusive and extreme. That these politicians spend time — on the public dime, no less — trying to find ways to undermine loving families is outrageous and crosses the bounds of common decency.”
The policy statement has also drawn comparisons with Uganda, where homosexuality is currently punishable by up to 14 years in prison and where a new Anti-Homosexuality Bill last year proposed introducing the death penalty in certain circumstances. The Bill, said to have been partially influenced by America’s Christian evangelist movement, was later revised to soften the penalty to life imprisonment.
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Texas, known as the buckle on America’s Bible Belt for its Christian conservatism, passed a law in 1860 that outlawed sodomy and introduced penalties of between 5 and 15 years in prison. The ban was overturned by a Supreme Court decision in 2003, after two Houston men brought a case challenging their conviction for having homosexual sex in the privacy of their own home.
But the Texas Republicans’ “party platform” document, a policy statement drawn up following their annual convention earlier this month and published at the weekend, is intended to pander to the Christian right without necessarily delivering, observers say.
“It’s chest thumping,” said Professor Cal Jillson, a political scientist at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
“It’s intended to demonstrate undying commitment to traditional conservatism, though at the end of the day they aren’t going to spend a lot of time trying to pass legislation.”
But Dennis Dison, vice-president of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, said: “People may say it’s crafted by true believers who just try to throw in the kitchen sink, but it’s still down on paper and it’s offensive.”
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He added: “I read their document and I was kind of gobsmacked about how backwards they really are. There are plenty of Republicans who may be conservative but who are really embarrassed by a document that purports to speak for their party in Texas in this way. It’s a clear sop to the religious right.”