Dean says he misstated party platform regarding marriage equality

Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean admitted Thursday that remarks he made about the Democratic Party platform during a Christian Broadcasting Network interview that aired Wednesday on The 700 Club were incorrect. “The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman," Dean said during the interview with Pat Robertson. "That's what it says. I think where we may take exception with some religious leaders is that we believe in inclusion, that everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect, and that equal rights under the law are important.”

In fact, the DNC 2004 platform reads, "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. 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.”

On Thursday, Dean issued the following statement: "I misstated the Democratic Party's platform, which does not say that marriage should be limited to a man and a woman but says the party is committed to full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and leaves the issue to the states to decide. The Democratic Party remains committed to equal protection under the law for all Americans. How we achieve that goal continues to be the subject of a contentious debate, but our party continues to oppose constitutional amendments that seek to short-circuit the debate on how to achieve equality for all Americans."

The party platform was approved by more than 4,000 elected and at-large Democratic delegates who met in Boston in 2004 to pick a presidential candidate, and there have been no official revisions of the platform since 2004. "Disturbingly, this is not the first time [Dean] has misrepresented this important and affirming plank, and he has been asked before to correct the record and to cease making these misleading statements," said Matt Foreman, executive director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. (The Advocate)