"Democrats became the first major American political party to approve a platform endorsing marriage equality."
The Democratic Party made history at its national convention Tuesday when it became the first major American political party to endorse marriage equality in its platform, drawing a sharp contrast with the Republican Party’s official stance on the issue.
Delegates approved the platform with its explicit mention of “marriage equality” by voice vote on the floor of the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina shortly after 6 p.m.
Part of the difference between the parties includes LGBT civil rights, which are addressed under the Democratic platform’s “Protecting Rights and Freedoms” section. The section includes an endorsement of the Employment Non-discrimination Act, saying that, “People should not be fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The section also includes the new “Freedom to Marry” plank that the platform committee approved unanimously for the first time last month.
“We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law,” says the document. “We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.”
“We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples,” continues the platform. “We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.”
This article was taken from the Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/politics/election/2012/09/04/democrats-approve-marriage-equality-platform
The Full Democratic Platform is available at http://www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform
The Democratic Party made history at its national convention Tuesday when it became the first major American political party to endorse marriage equality in its platform, drawing a sharp contrast with the Republican Party’s official stance on the issue.
Delegates approved the platform with its explicit mention of “marriage equality” by voice vote on the floor of the Charlotte Convention Center in North Carolina shortly after 6 p.m.
Part of the difference between the parties includes LGBT civil rights, which are addressed under the Democratic platform’s “Protecting Rights and Freedoms” section. The section includes an endorsement of the Employment Non-discrimination Act, saying that, “People should not be fired based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.”
The section also includes the new “Freedom to Marry” plank that the platform committee approved unanimously for the first time last month.
“We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law,” says the document. “We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples. We also support the freedom of churches and religious entities to decide how to administer marriage as a religious sacrament without government interference.”
“We oppose discriminatory federal and state constitutional amendments and other attempts to deny equal protection of the laws to committed same-sex couples who seek the same respect and responsibilities as other married couples,” continues the platform. “We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.”
This article was taken from the Advocate.com
http://www.advocate.com/politics/election/2012/09/04/democrats-approve-marriage-equality-platform
The Full Democratic Platform is available at http://www.democrats.org/democratic-national-platform