Editors: we’re not just for books anymore!
A recently published and just-adopted 2016 party platform has caused the Texas GOP to put its foot in its mouth. As the Texas Monthly mentions, the sentence in question says homosexual behavior “has been ordained by God in the Bible, recognized by our nations founders, and shared by the majority of Texans.”
Oops.
The entire passage reads:
NPRNow, some are blaming the Oxford comma for the misunderstanding, but Oxford commas are meant to clarify sentences and make them less confusing. The fault, in this case, lies with the word choice — word choice and sloppy copy editing.
As NPR points out, the problem lies in the placement of the word “has.” Since it is used singularly, the word refers back to the “homosexual behavior” instead of the “truths.”
So you see, dear readers, it should really be “unchanging truths that have been ordained.”
Susan Vavrick, the copy chief of NPR, made some minor corrections to the GOP’s definition:
NPRThe Texas GOP has refused to comment.
NPR also pointed out the 2014 version of this platform does not have any such errors.
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