R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of gay GOP group Log Cabin Republicans, believes language approved Monday by a subcommittee of the Republican National Committee's (RNC) platform-drafting committee calling for equal respect for all Americans would include gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

“We embrace the principle that all Americans have the right to be treated with dignity and respect,” the passage states.

Cooper told BuzzFeed's Chris Geidner that inclusion in the final platform would be a nod for the rights of gay people. He added that Rick Cochran, founder and CEO of Mobile Medical International Corporation (MMIC) and Republican town chair for Walden, Vermont, proposed expanding the party's nondiscrimination list to include sexual orientation.

The party platform has previously included support for the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the 1996 law which forbids federal agencies from recognizing the legal marriages of gay couples. Cooper said it was not clear yet whether the 2012 platform would do the same.

(Related: Democratic committee approves gay marriage plank in platform.)