Gay marriage supporter at the 41st LGBT Pride parade in San Francisco (Reuters/Susana Bates)

Gay marriage supporter at the 41st LGBT Pride parade in San Francisco (Reuters/Susana Bates)

WASHINGTON -- Four former chairs of the Democratic National Committee called on the party on Wednesday to embrace marriage equality in the 2012 Democratic platform. "We are proud that the Democratic Party fights for working families, economic justice, and equal opportunity for all," said Howard Dean, Donald Fowler, Steve Grossman and David Wilhelm in a joint statement. "Times change but our principles must always remain strong. That is why, as former chairs of the Democratic National Committee, we stand with Freedom to Marry, 22 Democratic senators, Leader Nancy Pelosi, and more than 35,000 Americans in urging the Party to include a freedom to marry plank in the platform that is ratified at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte this September."

Bit by bit, more progress This is where the Democratic Party ought to be, both morally and politically. Whether President Obama completes his evolution on the freedom to marry in 2012 or not, the party itself ought to tie itself firmly to the principle of equality. This is one of those rare things in politics that's not only inevitable, it's right. There's nothing to fear except being wrong.