LBJ School graduate Rachel Hoff, who made history as the first openly gay person to sit on the Republican Platform Committee, presented an amendment to the committee last week that would acknowledge the shifting sentiments towards same-sex marriage within the Republican Party. Hoff, who serves as a delegate (DC) to the Republican National Convention, is a 2014 Master of Global Policy Studies graduate and current member of the LBJ Washington Center's Steering Committee.
Hoff hoped the amendment, which was ultimately defeated, would soften language of LGBT issues.
"When our platform comes out [this] week, it's going to be a big letter to all Americans, including LGBT Americans, about why they should vote for us," Hoff told TIME magazine. "And right now I don't think they have much reason to do so. … I hoped that I might have some sort of softening effect on what people said and did. It does not appear to have had that effect based on the language that came out of the committee, but I still think that it's important for people to know that you're in the room."
Hoff continued, "I clearly disagree with my party on this issue, on marriage, on LGBT rights. But that's one part of who I am and that's one issue that I care about. First of all, it was important that I be vocal about being gay. I've been out for 10 years now. So it's not like I came out at the platform committee. But I really wanted to say it there, because I thought it was important that the people in the room, particularly those who are in favor of traditional marriage and against LGBT rights, be reminded that they were talking to a gay person."
The LBJ School has long taken pride in producing thinkers and doers, and Hoff is an outstanding testament to that legacy.
"I chose public policy because it's a pathway to public service and I see it as a way to make a difference," Hoff said. "The LBJ School attracts faculty with a diverse set of experiences within government and students with incredible experiences around the country and around the world. The most valuable thing I learned was a rigorous analytical way to look at policy — looking at policy through a different lens about what should be implemented, how it should be implemented and then looking back at the effects of any particular policy."
In the wake of deadly shootings in both Baton Rouge and Dallas, the 2016 RNC will also address guns and national security. Other hot topics include the Benghazi attack, immigration, foreign policy and trade. The RNC's lineup includes the former mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani, wife of Donald Trump, Melania Trump, and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.
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Read Rachel Hoff's TIME magazine interview.
Watch Rachel Hoff present her amendment to the Republican Platform Committee.
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