It's official. Christian fundamentalists have co-opted the Texas Republican Party. The name should be changed to Texas Christian Republican Party.
The implications of this for Texans was spelled out by the Texas Freedom Network.
1. For Texas Christian Republican Party members, the idea of separation of church and state is a "myth." Christians would be given "favored-person" status in Texas.
2. The First Amendment's provision against governmental endorsement of religion (specifically the Christian [fundamentalist] religion) would be voided.
3. The Texas Christian Republican Party would turn the government into an ally in its fight against "sound science and medical research." As TFN notes, "Public schools would be required to teach religious doctrine, such as 'intelligent design'/creationism, in science classes. Medical research involving embryonic stem cells, which scientists believe offers real promise for treating patients with medical conditions like cancer and Parkinson's disease, would be criminalized."
4. The teaching of medically-correct information regarding contraception and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases would be forbidden in the public schools. The only sex education allowed would insist on "abstinence until heterosexual marriage."
5. The politicized State Board of Education would decide the content of public school textbooks based "on the personal beliefs of whatever majority" was in control. The State Board of Education would also reintroduce censorship to Texas schools, thereby ensuring that all material pass the Christian "sniff" test.
6. Taxpayers would be hit for the cost of subsidizing private non-religious and private religious schools "through vouchers and tax deductions." These schools would be largely on their own without oversight or control and thus able to avoid the education standards required of public schools.
7. Woman would be marginalized as they would lose "their right to make decisions regarding their reproductive health." Forget abortion services; persons providing abortions or receiving abortions would become criminals. There would be no abortions for any reason, not even to save the life of the mother. In some cases, "access to various forms of contraception would be barred or restricted. In addition, the government would make it harder for women to divorce and escape abusive relationships.
8. Discrimination against gays, lesbians, bi-sexuals and transgenders would become state policy. "Government would be empowered to imprison and/or fine adults who engage in even private, consensual sexual intimacy with other adults of the same gender. GLBT's would be denied the right to adopt children and they would be stripped "of any right to custody of their own children." The final insult is they would find their visitation rights eliminated or greatly reduced.
Read more here.
1 comment:
Does Texas wish to become a separate nation with an official religion? Can the rest of us do without them? Maybe Tom DeLay could be their leader, ruler, president, chief Minister or whatever they want to call their leaders. They could also get rid of all gays, Mexicans or non Christians and go back several centuries when life was so much better without science. They would be an oil producing nation and could join OPEC maybe. They could take care of themselves if disaster strikes and raise their own military and any other governmental services they wish. With some luck, they could even bring back slavery as long as they are turning the clock back. Maybe Bush and Chaney could lead them if De Lay is too busy. Sounds ok to me. We could bear the costs of removing one star from all our flags or we could add Puerto Rico, which has a large Hispanic population to replace those lost to the new Texas.
It is something to think about.
Bob Poris
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