Garrett Supporting Those In Favor Of 'Traditional Marriage'

PARAMUS, N.J. — Rep. Scott Garrett pledged his support of the 2016 Republican Party Platform recently, and reiterated his support of traditional marriage, a move his opponent, Josh Gottheimer, decried.

Garrett said in a recent Wall Street Journal piece that he agrees "with the Republican platform and the Republican platform supports traditional marriage and so I will be supporting those who support traditional marriage."

Traditional marriage and family, based on marriage between one man and one woman, the Platform states, "is the foundation of a free society and has for millennia been entrusted with rearing children and instilling cultural values."

Garrett has come under fire since last year after Politico reported that Garrett had refused to pay his Republican Party dues because the party had backed gay candidates for Congress.

The Platform also calls for Republicans to endorse the First Amendment Defense Act. The Republican-backed legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate would prevent the government from discriminating against people and businesses for acting on the belief that marriage is the union of one man and one woman.

The legislation would also protect the non-profit tax status of faith-based adoption agencies and the licensing of religious professions — "all of which are under assault" by the Democratic Party, according to the GOP.

Democrat Josh Gottheimer, a former speechwriter for President Bill Clinton from Wyckoff, claims the document discriminates against women and their right to choose and the homosexual, bisexual, and transgender community.

“It’s no surprise that Garrett endorses the most bigoted, anti-women and extreme parts in the Republican Party Platform," Gottheimer said in a statement. “He’s so out of step… that I don’t even know many Republican elected officials in New Jersey who support those views."

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

Photo: Rep. Scott Garrett — Wikimedia Commons