NEVADA: State GOP Drops Opposition To Gay Marriage And Abortion

Via the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Amid raucous debate, Nevada Republican Party conventioneers on Saturday stripped opposition to gay marriage and abortion from the party platform and endorsed Gov. Brian Sandoval for governor in the June 10 primary despite misgivings by conservatives, his criticism of the process and his absence from the meeting. By a show of hands, convention-goers adopted the platform as proposed by a separate committee without the two planks on marriage and abortion, following the Clark County GOP’s lead in removing hot-button social issues from the party’s statement of its principles. Some 520 delegates attended the convention, but less than half were present when the platform was adopted at about 7:30 p.m. Little debate preceded the vote, a far contrast to earlier in day. State party Chairman Michael McDonald said it was a successful convention at the end of the day. “I think it was about inclusion, not exclusion,” McDonald said, referring to the platform. “This is where the party is going.”

Log Cabin Republicans react via press release:

"The state party has made it clear that they want a 'bigger tent' and has welcomed us into it," said Ed Williams, President of Log Cabin Republicans of Nevada and a delegate at the convention. "Today's historic vote positions the Log Cabin Republicans of Nevada and our allies to be even more effective in demonstrating that the Republican Party is the party of limited government, personal responsibility and individual liberty." Log Cabin Republicans National Executive Director Gregory T. Angelo added: "Once again, our local Log Cabin Republicans members have made a critical difference pushing the GOP toward the right side of history by going where others fear to tread -- or cannot tread because of their party affiliation. The Republican Party is at a crossroads: in a year where the Massachusetts GOP rolled back the clock and added divisive social issues to its platform, the state Republican Party responsible for nominating Sharron Angle in 2010 seems to have finally learned to focus on the issues that truly matter to voters, which will lead to massive Republican wins at the ballot box this fall"