WASHINGTON -- The Democratic National Committee is closer to adopting same-sex marriage rights as part of the party’s platform after a drafting committee voted to move a measure endorsing it to the next round of voting.
The unanimous vote Sunday, heralded by LGBT rights activists, was first reported by the Washington Blade and confirmed Monday by a DNC source.
“There was a unanimous decision in the drafting committee to include it in the platform, which I supported, but everybody was for it,” committee member Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told the Blade.
In addition to support for same-sex marriage rights, the proposal included provisions that rebuke the Defense of Marriage Act and affirm the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The specific language remains under wraps.
The vote follows a series of victories for gay rights and same-sex marriage proponents, who over the past several months have seen a federal appeals court’s rejection of Proposition 8 in California and President Obama’s announcement that he personally supports gay marriage rights.
Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, who testified before the committee Friday, said he was grateful for the vote.
“The Democratic Party has a noble history of fighting for the human and civil rights of all Americans,” Solomon said in a statement. “We are proud that the committee is including language that will ensure the party is leading the way forward in supporting marriage for loving and committed same-sex couples and their families.”
And Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin expressed hope that the decision would extend past the DNC.
“I believe that one day very soon the platforms of both major parties will include similar language on this issue. There is no more American value than honoring and protecting one’s family,” he said in a statement.
But the Republican National Committee has repeatedly affirmed its opposition to any such measure.
“We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that,” Chairman Renice Priebus said after Obama’s announcement.
Despite the excitement from same-sex marriage supporters, the vote still has to be approved by the full DNC platform committee in two weeks, and then be voted in by convention delegates in Charlotte before the plank officially becomes part of the platform.
Follow Politics Now on Twitter
[email protected]
Twitter: @mlittledc
The unanimous vote Sunday, heralded by LGBT rights activists, was first reported by the Washington Blade and confirmed Monday by a DNC source.
“There was a unanimous decision in the drafting committee to include it in the platform, which I supported, but everybody was for it,” committee member Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) told the Blade.
In addition to support for same-sex marriage rights, the proposal included provisions that rebuke the Defense of Marriage Act and affirm the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. The specific language remains under wraps.
The vote follows a series of victories for gay rights and same-sex marriage proponents, who over the past several months have seen a federal appeals court’s rejection of Proposition 8 in California and President Obama’s announcement that he personally supports gay marriage rights.
Marc Solomon, national campaign director of Freedom to Marry, who testified before the committee Friday, said he was grateful for the vote.
“The Democratic Party has a noble history of fighting for the human and civil rights of all Americans,” Solomon said in a statement. “We are proud that the committee is including language that will ensure the party is leading the way forward in supporting marriage for loving and committed same-sex couples and their families.”
And Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin expressed hope that the decision would extend past the DNC.
“I believe that one day very soon the platforms of both major parties will include similar language on this issue. There is no more American value than honoring and protecting one’s family,” he said in a statement.
But the Republican National Committee has repeatedly affirmed its opposition to any such measure.
“We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that,” Chairman Renice Priebus said after Obama’s announcement.
Despite the excitement from same-sex marriage supporters, the vote still has to be approved by the full DNC platform committee in two weeks, and then be voted in by convention delegates in Charlotte before the plank officially becomes part of the platform.
Follow Politics Now on Twitter
[email protected]
Twitter: @mlittledc