The DNC and Obama campaign are debating if and how they might include a marriage equality plank in the national platform for 2012. While in the end, what actually goes in the platform will be decided by the Obama campaign, the more states that stand up and call for it to be included in 2012 helps to ensure that equality will be included in 2016 with no issue.

There are national efforts to pressure the Obama campaign and the DNC to include an equality plank. It’s a noble cause, and many of us will participate in those efforts. However, this site is distinct from those efforts.

As activists in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin (DPW), we first and foremost want to see the President reelected and the Democrats make gains nationwide. Organizing and preparing for a grand showdown in September on the national convention floor is not a productive use of our time. Instead, we have a more modest goal that we are uniquely able to achieve: we seek to ensure that our entire state delegation is on record as being ready and willing to vote for a marriage equality plank in the 2012 platform.

We’ll also make the case that President Obama has done more for LGBT Americans than any President in history, and he needs our support to be reelected.

In the short time we have until the convention, it is unlikely that marriage equality will be the central issue for all but a few of our delegates, and that’s fine. Our true purpose is to raise the profile of the issue by ensuring all members of our state delegation have to consider it, and to send a signal to other states, the Obama campaign, and future candidates that this issue matters to grassroots Democrats.