Democrats meeting in Detroit on
Saturday approved adding a gay marriage plank to the 2012 Democratic
Party platform.
The Democratic Party Platform Committee
unanimously approved the platform drafting committee's proposed
language drawn up last month in Minneapolis.
Democrats meeting in Charlotte on
September 3 will ratify the platform.
The plank, titled Freedom to Marry,
calls for “equal respect, responsibilities and protections under
the law” for all families. It also calls for passage of the
Respect for Marriage Act, which would repeal the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA), the 1996 law which forbids federal agencies from
recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
Evan Wolfson, founder and president of
Freedom to Marry, praised the move.
“Today's vote to include language
supporting the freedom to marry in the Democratic Party's National
Platform is a victory for fairness and families, and a historic
moment long in the making,” Wolfson said in a statement. “Support
for the freedom to marry puts the party on the right side of history,
and in the solid mainstream of the majority of the American people.
Freedom to Marry applauds the Democratic Party for its fidelity to
bedrock American values of the pursuit of happiness, liberty, and
justice for all, and for its vision of an America that respects all
families and honors commitment and love.”