POLITICS - Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — the chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention — said on Wednesday that he favors a gay marriage legalization plank in his party’s platform.
Villaraigosa publicly announced he backs the national party taking a stance on marriage equality, an issue he has long supported, at Wednesday’s POLITICO Playbook Breakfast. President Barack Obama doesn’t support legalization but has said his position is evolving.
During a wide-ranging interview, POLITICO’s Mike Allen at one point asked the recently selected chairman, “Do you think that the Democratic national platform should have a marriage equality plank?”
“I do, I think it’s basic to who we are,” Villaraigosa said. “I believe in family values and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don’t think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.”
(Posted first at politico.com) -cw