INDIANAPOLIS – Rep. Braun has yet to make clear where he stands on the debate splitting his party over the removal of discriminatory language from the GOP platform, less than a week before the change triggers a showdown at the Indiana Republican Convention on Saturday.

Last week, a draft of the Indiana GOP’s biennial platform caused an uproar within the party when it was leaked ahead of the party’s convention in Evansville. Notably, a homophobic section re-instated during the Pence era defining marriage as between a man and woman had been dropped from the latest version. A group of hardline conservatives have opposed the change, however, setting up a potential floor fight at the GOP convention this weekend.

So far, Rep. Braun has yet to say whether he’s in favor of the proposed changes or if he sides with the hardliners. Given Rep. Braun’s history of support for discriminatory policies, it wouldn’t be shocking if he prefers the more bigoted language.

After all, Rep. Braun voted for and was a vocal defender of Governor Pence’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). And as recently as December, he reiterated his opposition to gay marriage, telling an audience at a Monroe County GOP breakfast he believes in “traditional marriage”  between a man and a woman.

“Does Rep. Braun support the new language, or does he side with the hardline conservatives hellbent on keeping discriminatory Pence-era language locked into the GOP platform?,” said Michael Feldman, spokesman for the Indiana Democratic Party. “Rep. Braun’s silence over the fight threatening to rip apart his new party speaks almost as loudly as his history of supporting harmful policies like RFRA and marriage discrimination.”

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