Jared Kushner Wants Gay Conversion Therapy Removed From GOP Platform
- By
- Carlos Santoscoy
- | May 25, 2020
Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and top adviser, has been working on condensing the Republican Party platform.
According to AXIOS, the work to overhaul the platform started six months ago.
“[Kushner] has told confidants he wants to shrink the GOP's extensive platform of policy beliefs and principles down to a single card that fits in people's pockets,” the outlet reported.
The platform is updated every four years and approved at the GOP convention. The 2016 platform runs 58 pages. It includes support for so-called conversion therapy to minors and state laws that restrict transgender bathroom use and opposition to marriage equality.
Kushner said that he wanted language that would alienate voters removed from the platform. An example of this he said was anything about “gay conversion therapy.”
The platform does not explicitly mention support for therapies that attempt to alter the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBT youth, but does include this line: “We support the right of parents to determine the proper medical treatment and therapy for their minor children.”
Tim Murtaugh, the Trump campaign's director of communications, said that the call for a more concise platform “has been driven by the campaign.”
“As recently as 2016, a more focused platform was considered. Ultimately, the platform committee of the convention will make the decision, but as is the case with all national conventions, the President’s campaign will play a major role. In any event, we expect the 2020 platform to be the most conservative in history and one which will reflect the President’s conservative imprint on the Republican Party,” Murtaugh said.