Exclusive: Democratic Party Platform Draft: “We Support Marriage Equality”

“We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. We support marriage equality and support the movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples,” platform language says.

The Democratic Platform Drafting Committee agreed to add language supporting marriage equality to this year’s party platform, the language of which has not previously been released but which BuzzFeed has obtained.

The draft language, shared today with committee members, is:

We support the right of all families to have equal respect, responsibilities, and protections under the law. 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. We support the full repeal of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act and the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act.

The Platform Committee, another body than the Drafting Committee, will have to approve the language when it meets this weekend in Detroit and the convention delegates will have to adopt the platform in Charlotte.

UPDATE: The Human Rights Campaign’s president, Chad Griffin, praised the move: “Marriage equality has quickly become a mainstream American value and it’s a sign of the times that the Democratic Party has included language affirming the ability of gays and lesbians to marry in its draft platform. We encourage the Platform Committee and the delegates to the convention to adopt this strong statement that all loving and committed American families deserve equal treatment.”

FURTHER UPDATE: Check out this article for the Dems’ draft platform language on LGBT employment protections and bullying issues.