A member of the Log Cabin Republicans, which is taking part in the national party's platform drafting process for the first time this year, said the document will continue to endorse the Defense of Marriage Act and a federal constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage.
"You're still going to see stuff on the federal amendment. You're going to see stuff affirming DOMA," said Casey Pick, programs director of the Log Cabin Republicans and a member of the group's delegation to the platform committee. The committee began meeting to finalize the platform Monday in Tampa, Fla., where the national convention will take place next week.
Pick said it should come as "no surprise" that the platform, which endorsed DOMA and the federal marriage amendment in 2008, would include the items in 2012. She said the chairman of the subcommittee on Restoring Constitutional Government, which oversees the social issues portion of the platform, is James Bopp, an attorney who has defended the National Organization for Marriage. In addition, the Romney-Ryan ticket, which Log Cabin has not yet announced whether it will endorse, has expressed support for the Defense of Marriage Act and the federal constitutional amendment.
Following the Democratic Party's inclusion of "marriage equality" in its platform for the first time this year, the focus shifted to what changes, if any, the Republican platform would incorporate. Last week Young Conservatives for the Freedom to Marry sent a letter to the Republican National Committee Platform Committee asking members to "respect these differences by not opposing the freedom to marry in its platform." The letter noted that "Republicans have played an increasingly important role in advancing freedom to marry legislation" in states including New York and New Hampshire, and mentioned the "rapidly changing perspectives and discussions taking place around dinner tables throughout the country."
The 2008 Republican platform also expressed support for "the right of the people of the various states to affirm traditional marriage through state initiatives." Pick did not say whether this year's platform would also include, but she indicated that some progress could be announced before the proceedings conclude on Tuesday.
"There are other issues that we've been working on, but I'm not going to spoil that until we've got it in the document," she said.
Earlier today, BuzzFeed reported that a platform subcommittee approved language saying, "We embrace the principle that all Americans have the right to be treated with dignity and respect," which would be a "positive nod" in the direction of LGBT people. The language does not specifically mention sexual orientation or gender identity, but Log Cabin executive director R. Clarke Cooper said discussions were "still early in the process."
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