The comments below are my personal opinions and do not speak on behalf of the Boulder County Republican Party.
On June 3, a message titled “God Hates Pride” was sent by Colorado Republican Party Chairman Dave Williams, and the email included a video clip titled “God Hates the Flag.” The premise of the email is that people who celebrate “Pride Month” are “…atheists in our society who are attacking what is decent, sacred, and righteous, and ultimately seeking to harm our children.” The email sent by Chairman Williams creates division and alienation, and fails to unite people who want to explore the big tent of conservative values but are afraid of it due to the perception that conservatives and Republicans are all hateful bigots.
Chairman Williams made sure to let politically-inclined folks know where Colorado Republicans stand: intolerant haters. The truth is, we are not. We are tolerant and we invite all people, regardless of race, color, creed or sexual orientation, to join us in ensuring that constitutional rights are upheld, individual rights are protected, that our government is restrained and does not exercise unlimited power over its people, and that our security and sovereignty are not compromised for the health and well-being of our citizens who believe in the American Dream. We also believe that as a tolerant and diverse nation, adults are free to choose their own lifestyle (legally and civilly, of course). We call this freedom, and America is the freest country in the world.
Regardless of political beliefs, most adults agree that children under the age of 18 should not be subjected to sexual indoctrination or funded gender transition. This is a view shared by many in the LGBT community and on both sides of the political aisle. The problem with Chairman Williams’ email is that he represented all conservative views with a theological argument and labeled everyone who celebrates Pride Month as a groomer or pedophile. “At the end of the day, these LGBTQ+ degenerates want to groom and sexually exploit your children to normalize pedophilia.”
Nothing in any rule book says that conservative values don’t support an individual’s right to love who they want, or that all LGBT people want to harm children. This is absurd. The Boulder County Republican Party has actively worked with Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, who strongly advocate for protecting children from sexualizing and harmful premature medical procedures, to promote conservative values in our community and have engaged in constructive discussions about how to work with the local LGBT community to convey our conservative message.
Chairman Williams’ belief that the core conservative values of the Republican Party are rooted in strict theological dogma is inaccurate. Chairman Williams’ email is alienating, divisive, hateful, and fails to distinguish between several different topics. As a freedom-loving conservative party, it is a clearly enshrined First Amendment right for individuals to show pride in their communities. Chairman Williams’ bringing religion into party politics, and whether children should be allowed to watch men in skimpy clothing shaking their body parts in front of them, is a whole other topic.
As conservatives, we should focus on our core values and principles, not mix them up with a short-sighted virtue of righteousness that creates the impression that the Republican camp is only interested in straight right-wing religious members. Separating the perversity of various groups under the umbrella of LGBTQIA+ and Pride Month is another topic that many conservative LGBT advocates have tried to clarify. Valdamar Archuleta, president of the Colorado Log Cabin Republicans, has stated multiple times that conservative LGBT members do not support extreme adult content material in front of children.
I can no longer support Chairman Williams and the elected executive running our state party. I believe we need leadership that will unite and grow our party based on Republican values, not the fabricated values that the state Republican Party claims to represent everyone. There is no path to victory without unity and growth. I apologize for giving the impression of intolerance and hatred towards the LGBT community, and I want you to recognize that the statements made by the Colorado Republican Party Chairman do not represent the mainstream conservative values here in Colorado, especially in Boulder County. Therefore, I support all efforts to remove Chairman Williams and the elected executive as soon as possible.
Tara Menza is chair of the Boulder County Republican Party.
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