Nearly half of all U.S. Democratic
senators support an effort to add marriage equality to the 2012
Democratic Party Platform, gay weekly The
Washington Blade reported.
Last month, Freedom to Marry launched
the Democrats:
Say I Do campaign, which calls on the Democratic National
Committee (DNC) to endorse marriage equality in this year's platform.
The DNC will ratify the document during its national convention,
which begins September 3 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The effort has been endorsed by seven
Obama for America co-chairs and House
Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Twenty-two senators expressed support,
including Michael Bennet of Colorado, Chris Coons of Delaware, Dianne
Feinstein of California, Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, Ron Wyden of
Oregon, Ben Cardin of Maryland, John Kerry of Massachusetts, Carl
Levin of Michigan, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Patty Murray of
Washington, Mark Udall of Colorado, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire,
Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, Chuck Schumer of New York, Tom Harkin
of Iowa, Barbara Boxer of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York,
Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard
Blumenthal of Connecticut, Bob Menendez of New Jersey and Al Franken
of Minnesota.
Five senators, Murray, Levin, Mikulski,
Lautenberg and Harkin, originally voted for the Defense of Marriage
Act (DOMA), which bars federal agencies from recognizing the legal
marriages of gay couples.