Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who serves as chair of the Democratic National Convention and a co-chair of the “Mayors for the Freedom to Marry” coalition, has announced his support for a marriage plank in the Democratic Party’s 2012 national platform.

Antonio Villaraigosa

Speaking with Politico’s Mike Allen on Wednesday monring, Villaraigosa said marriage equality is “basic to who we are.”

“I believe in family values and I believe that we all want to be able to have a family and marry if we want to.

“I don’t think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry,” Villaraigosa said.

Villaraigosa joins a growing number of elected officials and prominent members of the Democratic Party who have endorsed a marriage plank, including 22 U.S. Senators, U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, and seven Obama Campaign co-chairs.

Villaraigosa also co-leads the bipartisan “Mayors for the Freedom to Marry” coalition, which now includes more than 175 mayors from 32 states who support marriage for gay and lesbian couples.

Tags: California, Democrats, Los Angeles, Marriage Equality, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

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