Democrats unveil historic pro-LGBT party platform

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — On the eve of their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., the Democratic Party on Monday unveiled a platform that supports marriage equality for gays and lesbians, an historic first for a national U.S. political party.

The platform also calls for the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), supports the Employment Non- Discrimination Act, which would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and protections for LGBT bi-national couples threatened with deportation.

“This election is not simply a choice between two candidates or two political parties, but between two fundamentally different paths for our country and our families,” the platform states.

On the issues of civil rights for LGBT people, and marriage equality, the platform reads in part, “we believe in an America where everybody gets a fair shot and everybody plays by the same set of rules. At the core of the Democratic Party is the principle that no one should face discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, language, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability status.”

The Democratic platform also states that it “strongly and unequivocally supports Roe v. Wade,” the 1973 landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that made abortion legal.

“Abortion is an intensely personal decision between a woman, her family, her doctor and her clergy; there is no place for politicians or government to get in the way,” the platform states.

The document stands in sharp contrast to the Republican blueprint that the GOP adopted at its convention in Tampa, Fla., last week. The Republican plan calls for a ban of all abortions and same-sex marriage.

Delegates to the Democratic National Convention will vote Tuesday to adopt the platform. Full text of the platform is here.