BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – The Washington Blade reports that a 15-member Democratic Party committee unanimously backed the inclusion of same-sex marriage in the party’s draft platform after a national hearing held in Minneapolis last weekend.
The Blade also notes that a Democratic National Committee staffer, who commented anonymously on the process, said rejection of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and positive language about the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) are also part of the draft, but the exact wording was not revealed.
Following the discussion and inclusion of any amendments, the platform will be presented to the party’s convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in September.
In a July 30 release, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) observed that support for marriage equality has risen quickly and consistently over the last 10 years. Citing a recent Gallup Poll, HRC noted that 70 percent of voters between 18 and 34 support gay marriage. They also cite a Washington Post/ABC News poll finding that 58 percent of independent voters support marriage for gays and lesbians, while a Public Religion Research Institute poll indicated that gay marriage had the support of 49 percent of younger Republicans.
“For the first time, a major US political party has embraced gay and lesbian people as full Americans,” Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs is quoted as saying in Gay Star News.
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