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LOU CHIBBARO J
Friday, July 11, 2008
U.S.
Rep.
Tammy
Baldwin
(D-Wisc.),
one
of
two
openly
gay
members
of
Congress,
was
among
20
people
appointed
this
week
to
the
Democratic
National
Convention’s
Platform
Drafting
Committee.
The
committee
is
charged
with
developing
a
first
draft
of
the
2008
Democratic
Party
platform,
and
party
insiders
say
the
panel
will
likely
deliberate
over
whether
to
propose
language
that
goes
further
than
past
years
on
gay
issues.
The
panel
is
also
expected
to
consider
whether
to
include,
for
the
first
time,
a
plank
addressing
transgender
issues.
Although
the
Democratic
National
Committee
announced
the
names
of
the
platform-drafting
panel
in
a
press
release
Tuesday,
the
campaign
of
presidential
candidate
Barack
Obama,
the
presumptive
Democratic
nominee,
is
believed
to
have
played
a
key
role
in
selecting
the
panel.
Under
longstanding
tradition,
the
party’s
presidential
nominee
gains
control
of
the
platform
drafting
process,
usually
because
the
nominee
has
won
a
majority
of
the
delegates
to
the
convention.
Under
party
rules,
the
delegates
must
vote
to
approve
the
final
draft
of
the
platform
at
the
convention.
The
DNC
also
announced
that
it
was
joining
the
Obama
campaign
in
organizing
platform
meetings
in
all
50
states
between
July
19
and
July
27
to
enable
voters
to
express
their
views
on
the
contents
of
the
platform.
Although
Obama
has
declined
to
support
legalizing
same-sex
marriage,
he
supports
civil
unions
for
same-sex
couples
and
has
expressed
overall
support
for
gay
and
transgender
rights
to
a
degree
beyond
that
of
any
previous
presidential
candidate
from
a
major
U.S.
political
party.
“The
world
is
such
a
different
place
from
four
years
ago,”
said
Mara
Keisling,
executive
director
of
the
National
Center
for
Transgender
Equality.
“Senator
Obama
has
a
good
record
of
support
on
GLBT
issues.”
According
to
the
DNC,
Karen
Kornbluh,
who
until
now
has
served
as
policy
director
for
Obama’s
Senate
office,
would
become
the
principal
author
of
the
draft
platform.
Michael
Yaki,
an
attorney
and
former
senior
aide
to
Speaker
of
the
House
Nancy
Pelosi
(D-Calif.),
has
been
named
national
platform
director,
according
to
the
DNC
announcement.
Arizona
Gov.
Janet
Napolitano
was
named
chairperson
of
the
platform
drafting
committee
and
Michigan
Gov.
Jennifer
Granholm
was
named
a
member
of
the
panel.
Four
years
ago,
gay
Democratic
activists
praised
the
2004
Democratic
Party
platform
for
including
the
most
far-reaching
language
on
gay
rights
than
any
previous
Democratic
platform.
But
activists
expressed
disappointment
that
the
2004
document
omitted
language
calling
for
civil
rights
protections
for
transgender
persons
and
only
made
a
veiled
reference
to
the
issue
of
gays
in
the
military.
In
a
section
on
civil
rights,
the
2004
Democratic
Party
Platform
—
which
remains
in
effect
until
the
Democratic
Convention
in
August
of
this
year
—
states,
“We
will
enact
the
bipartisan
legislation
barring
workplace
discrimination
based
on
sexual
orientation.”
Instead
of
calling
for
repeal
of
the
“Don’t
Ask,
Don’t
Tell”
policy
on
gays
in
the
military,
as
requested
by
gay
Democratic
activists,
the
2004
platform
states,
“We
are
committed
to
equal
treatment
of
all
service
members
and
believe
all
patriotic
Americans
should
be
allowed
to
serve
our
country
without
discrimination,
persecution
and
violence.”
Party
officials,
led
by
the
presidential
campaign
of
then-Democratic
nominee
John
Kerry,
rejected
calls
for
a
platform
plank
supporting
same-sex
marriage
and
instead
adopted
language
that
many
gay
Democrats
considered
a
reasonable
compromise
that
took
the
party
further
than
ever
before
on
same-sex
relationships.
“We
support
full
inclusion
of
gay
and
lesbian
families
in
the
life
of
our
nation
and
seek
equal
responsibilities,
benefits
and
protections
for
these
families,”
the
2004
platform
states.
“In
our
country,
marriage
has
been
defined
at
the
state
level
for
200
years,
and
we
believe
it
should
continue
to
be
defined
there.
We
repudiate
President
Bush’s
divisive
effort
to
politicize
the
Constitution
by
pursuing
a
‘Federal
Marriage
Amendment.’
Our
goal
is
to
bring
Americans
together,
not
drive
them
apart.”
Gay
civil
rights
attorney
Roberta
Achtenberg,
who
served
as
an
assistant
secretary
of
housing
during
the
Clinton
administration,
was
a
member
of
the
16-person
drafting
committee
that
wrote
the
draft
of
the
2004
platform.
Achtenberg
said
that
while
the
platform
didn’t
go
as
far
as
she
would
have
liked
on
gay
issues,
its
clear
opposition
to
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
same-sex
marriage
represented
a
bold
stance
at
a
time
when
many
Democrats
were
wavering
on
the
issue
of
gay
marriage.
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