The Iowa Democratic party is set to declare gay marriage a "civil right" in its 2012 platform. The proposal, which will be debated and ratified on June 16, states the party's support for marriage equality, recognizes marriage as a civil right, and calls for full adoption rights for LGBT parents. You can read the whole document here, via Radio Iowa.
The Democratic platform differs starkly from the proposal put forward by the Iowa GOP, which opposes the state's 2009 legalization of same-sex marriage. "We demand that the Iowa Legislature take action to impeach, and to remove from office, judges for legislating from the bench bypassing the Iowa Constitution as in the recent creation of a "so-called right to homosexual marriage,'" it reads, in part.
For Iowa Democrats, the full-on embrace of same-sex marriage is a notable progression from 2010, when the party stated opposition to the Defense of Marriage Act but did not list marriage as a civil right.
The 2012 Democratic platform also wades into the "war on women" debate, explicitly listing its support for "the right of women to make their own healthcare decisions including reproductive choices."
It calls for increased Planned Parenthood funding, after a controversial bill to defund Planned Parenthood in Iowa was defeated by Democrats earlier this year.
The draft also supports accommodations for working women while breast-feeding, and advocates requiring pharmacists to fill pregnancy-related prescriptions -- a nod to problems women across the country have experienced acquiring emergency contraception over the counter.
Iowa is expected to be a crucial swing state in the presidential election.