2023-06-11 01:52:02
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Republican delegates in North Carolina voted Saturday at their annual convention to censure Thom Tillis, the state’s top U.S. senator, for supporting LGBTQ+ rights laws, immigration and against gun violence.
As Senator Tillis has gained influence in Congress through his willingness to work with both parties, his record of supporting some key policies has caused concern among some state Republicans who believe the senator has strayed from conservative values.
Several delegates in Greensboro criticized Tillis, who has held his Senate seat since 2015, for his collaboration last year on the Respect for Marriage Act, which enshrined into federal law protections for interracial or same-sex marriages. sex.
The state and national platforms of the Republican Party reject same-sex marriage, but Tillis, who was also an opponent in his early political career, was an early supporter of the law and lobbied among his Republican colleagues in the US Congress. to vote for it.
Others criticized him for challenging the immigration policies of former President Donald Trump and for supporting a measure that provides funds to prevent gun violence, which allows state courts to authorize the temporary removal of firearms from people believed to be may pose a risk to themselves or others.
The North Carolina senator initially opposed Trump’s plan to earmark military construction funds to build the border wall along the country’s southern border, but eventually changed his mind.
Tillis’ spokesman, Daniel Keylin, defended the senator’s voting record, writing in an email to The Associated Press that he “keeps his promises and delivers results.”
“He will never apologize for his work to pass the biggest tax cut in history, introduce laws to secure the border and end sanctuary cities, deliver desperately needed funds to strengthen school security, and protect the rights of churches to worship freely according to their beliefs in traditional marriage,” Keylin said.
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Hannah Schoenbaum is a member of The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-reported topics.
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