Missouri Republicans turn on gay colleague over his “disgusting” same-sex marriage ideas

A gay, GOP, state Representative in Missouri is finding out that there’s little appetite for his progressive ideas among fellow Republicans.

Lone Jack Rep. Chris Sander wants to amend the state constitution to recognize same-sex marriage. It currently recognizes marriage as between “one man and one woman”. Sanders has proposed legislation to amend this to “two individuals”.

However, twice in the last month, his local Republican party has discussed censuring him over the issue. Although not an expulsion, such a censure is a formal statement of disapproval.

The Jackson County Republican Party first discussed censuring him in late February but decided against doing so at the time.

The issue came up again this week, with a second motion to censure. On Monday night, the party again decided against taking action against Sander. Instead, it called on Republicans to sign a petition complaining about his proposed amendment.

If enough people sign it, he may still face censure at a later date.

High-ranking local Republicans accuse Sanders of deviating from the party’s platform.

“The Jackson County GOP censure and the Missouri Republican Party platform represent a small minority of leadership who conflict with our US Constitution,” Sander said in a text to the Kansas Star. “The committee members do not like gay Republicans.”

On Facebook, Sanders pointed out that “More than 18,000 Missourians have a same-sex marriage since a June 2015 US Supreme Court decision.” Same-sex marriage is enshrined in federal law, and extra protection was provided with last year’s Defense of Marriage Act.

“An abomination to mankind and to God himself”

Teresa McBride, the county GOP vice chair, was among those calling on Sander to withdraw his constitutional amendment.

In an email sent out Monday, obtained by the Kansas Star, she went as far as accusing Sander of encouraging pedophilia.

“The mere fact that you want to change the wording from ‘one man and one woman’ to ‘two individuals’ is an abomination to mankind and to God himself.

“The term ‘two individuals’ could be defined and interpreted in many different ways and open the door for pedophiles to legally rape and physically harm children. That is disgusting and promoting an agenda as such, is an abomination to our country.”

Although advocating for same-sex marriage, Sander appears to be hard-right on most other issues. On his campaign website, he is described as, “a MAGA Republican and President Trump campaign advocate since 2012. Chris will prioritize keeping taxes low and government small while supporting small businesses. As a defender of ALL our Constitutional rights, Chris will protect the unborn, respect the 2nd Amendment and halt illegal immigration.”