In Detroit on Saturday, the Democratic party platform committee unanimously voted to endorse same-sex marriage, the first time a major political party has supported that issue in its official statement of policies.
The platform says Democrats support "marriage equality" and the "movement to secure equal treatment under law for same-sex couples."
The Democratic platform also calls for repeal of the 1996 Defense of Marriage law, signed by Democratic President Bill Clinton, which recognizes marriage as between a man and woman.
Meanwhile Log Cabin Republican executive director R. Clarke Cooper said last week that members of his group will be inside the room when the Republican platform committee meets in Tampa next week, hoping to remove some language on same-sex marriage crafted in 2008.
This article appears in Aug 9-15, 2012.