McCain To Toe GOP's Anti-Gay Line

John McCain will not retreat from his party's strong anti-gay marriage and anti-abortion platform.

Advisers to Sen. John McCain's presidential bid say he will not try to "soften" the Republican party's platform on abortion and same-sex marriage to appeal to more voters. McCain associates told The Washington Times that his operatives are not going to work behind the scenes to eliminate the party's calls for constitutional bans on abortion and homosexual marriage before the GOP convention in September. Previous Republican nominees, such as former Kansas Sen. Bob Dole, have sought to alter the party's positions, which are honed and released in the platform immediately before the nominating convention.

According to a plank in the GOP's 2004 platform: "The well-being of children is best accomplished in the environment of the home, nurtured by their mother and father anchored by the bonds of marriage."