Mark your calendars boys and girls. Monday July 18, 2016; I officially became Independent.

I’ve made it known that I’ve loved politics from a young age, I’ve also been a Republican that whole time. I believed in the party that called itself the party of Lincoln. On Monday night, that party ceased to hold that title.

By claiming that the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln, they’re implying that they believe in social progress. The party of Lincoln fought to end slavery in America. The party of Lincoln fought to give interracial couples the right to marry. The party of Lincoln believed that every American deserved equal access to success and the right to make they’re own choices.

That’s the party I fell in love with when I was 4. I fell in love with the rhetoric of pull yourself up and that every person has the “stuff” to find success. These ideas matched the beliefs and values being taught to me. My parents taught me to value hardwork, honesty, and to have compassion. I believe that every person deserves the right to make their own choices without someone telling them they can’t because of how they look or how they identify.

The Republican Party used to believe that too. They advocated for school choice, the free market, and the belief in the values of respect for others differences. The party of Lincoln was the party that saw beyond petty differences and advocated for an America where every person is free.

I don’t feel the Republican party is the party of Lincoln anymore. The platform they adopted isn’t about individual liberty, but about diametrically opposing the Democrats.

Here is the link to the official platform adopted by the Republican Party. On page 32, they state that “we do not accept the Supreme Court’s redefinition of marriage and we urge its reversal, whether through judicial reconsideration or a constitutional amendment returning control over marriage to the states.”

Need I remind you that the party of Lincoln fought tirelessly for interracial marriage. The Chief Justice responsible for the landmark decision in Loving v Virginia was once a Republican Nominee for Vice President. You cannot tell me that the party of Lincoln is the same party that wants to deny millions of Americans the right to marry.

They’ve also put language in their platform that denounces the use of Title IX to include sexual orientation and gender to guarantee students are publicly funded schools from having equal access to certain amenities (what Title IX was written to do.) There’s language supporting parents who force their children to undergo conversion therapy, which is banned in Vermont, California, New Jersey, Illinois, and Oregon, as well as the District of Columbia for it’s violation of ethics.

Oh and of course the wall.

It seems to me that this platform was solely drafted to undermine the platform of the Democratic Party, and if these views don’t prove that, the countless number of times the 66 page document mentions that the party believes in these stances because the Democrats believe in the opposite, will.

Abraham Lincoln wouldn’t have stood for this division. Didn’t he say “a house divided cannot stand?” Or was that Melania Trump? Lincoln is rolling over in his grave at this disgusting decimation of his name and the party he founded.

The Republican Party no longer deserves the right to invoke the name of the greatest unifier in our nations history in their tirade to divide the nation and deny Americans rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I can't call myself a Republican any more because I don't recognize the party I've loved for 20 years any longer. So I am turning in my proverbial badge and heading our the door with the grace that this party used to have.