Dems approve draft of same-sex marriage plank for convention platform

7 hours ago CNN's Kevin Liptak (CNN) - Democrats meeting in Minneapolis this weekend approved draft language supportive of same-sex marriage as a plank in their party's platform, two Democratic sources confirmed Monday.

The full Democratic platform committee will now consider the same-sex marriage endorsement at a meeting in Detroit, scheduled to take place in two weeks. It will then be voted on by convention delegates in Charlotte. If approved, it would mark the first time support for same-sex marriage is included in the Democrats' platform.

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The specific language of the same-sex marriage endorsement was not immediately available.

In May, President Barack Obama publicly backed same-sex marriage for the first time in an interview with ABC News. Obama said soon after at a campaign fund-raising event that he believes marriage equality "strengthens families."

"I want everyone treated fairly in this country," Obama said. "We have never gone wrong when we've extended rights and responsibilities to everybody," he said, drawing big applause. "That doesn't weaken families, that strengthens families."

News of the same-sex marriage plank at the Democratic Convention was first reported by the Washington Blade.

Marc Solomon, the national campaign director of the pro-same-sex marriage group Freedom to Marry, said in a statement he was "grateful" for the vote of the drafting committee to include the marriage language.

"As I testified to the Committee on Friday, the Democratic Party has a noble history of fighting for the human and civil rights of all Americans," Solomon wrote. "We are proud that the Committee is including language that will ensure the Party is leading the way forward in supporting marriage for loving and committed same-sex couples and their families."

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