Florida Representative Debbie Wasserman
Schultz believes that President Barack Obama's endorsement of gay
marriage will lead to its inclusion in the 2012 Democratic Party
platform.
Schultz, who chairs the Democratic
National Committee, told Philadelphia Gay News that the
president's May announcement in support of marriage equality
increases the likelihood of inclusion.
In March, Freedom to Marry launched its
Democrats:
Say I Do campaign to promote a marriage equality plank in the
platform. More than 42,000 Democrats have joined the campaign,
including Democratic National Convention chair Antonio
Villaraigosa, House Minority Leader Nancy
Pelosi, U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth
Warren and nearly two dozen U.S. senators.
“I expect marriage equality to be a
plank in the national party platform,” Schultz
told the paper. “President Obama has declared his support for
it … now, our platform committee process is a people-powered
process. We have a platform committee and the platform is developed
by our Democratic activists and the platform committee members, so
they'll go through a process. I hope that marriage equality, and
expect that marriage equality, will be part of our platform.”