Montana GOP ends call to make homosexual acts illegal

HELENA — The Montana Republican Party is ending its call to make homosexual acts illegal, but the party is reinforcing its opposition to gay marriage.

The changes came over the weekend at the party's convention in Missoula.

The GOP had held the position seeking to criminalize homosexuality since a 1997 Montana Supreme Court case struck down similar state laws. The party had been criticized in recent years for continuing to maintain the stance.

But party executive director Bowen Greenwood says the decision to drop the language came as part of a larger effort to simply shorten a 31-page platform...