WASHINGTON — The Obama camp continues to have no answers on whether President Obama will complete his evolution to endorse marriage equality and support including it in the Democratic Party platform.
During a Wednesday conference call with reporters on the state of the presidential race, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina dodged a question from CNN’s Jessica Yellin on whether Obama will come to support marriage equality before the Democratic National Convention and a plank expressing that support in the party platform.
Earlier in the day, DNC convention chair and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa reportedly said he backs the idea of including marriage equality in the Democratic Party platform.
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Last week, 22 U.S. senators responded to requests from the Washington Blade saying they want a plank endorsing of same-sex marriage in the Democratic platform.
The platform committee is set to discuss and agree upon language in the Democratic Party platform when it gathers for the convention Sept. 3 in Charlotte, N.C. Officials with Democratic National Committee have declined to comment on whether the platform will include marriage equality.
Obama still hasn’t endorsed marriage equality nearly 17 months after he first said he could “evolve” to support it during a interview with progressive bloggers in response to a question from AMERICAblog’s Joe Sudbay.
It’s not the first time the Obama campaign has been asked whether marriage equality will be included in the Democratic Party platform. Last month on ABC News’ “This Week,” Obama campaign adviser and former White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said he doesn’t know if same-sex marriage will be in the platform, adding he hasn’t spoken to the president recently on the issue.
Messina continued that Obama’s stands “in sharp contrast to the other side” and said the president has achieved significant accomplishments for the LGBT community, such as repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.”
The three Republican presidential candidates who’ve won any states in the primaries — Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich — all back a U.S. constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage throughout the country. Obama voted against the amendment as a U.S. senator.
