Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has been an ardent supporter of marriage equality for years, and now that he's the chairman of the Democratic National Convention, he says he wants marriage equality to be part of the Democrats' platform. Villaraigosa told Politico's Mike Allen in an interview Wednesday, "I think it’s basic to who we are," and said, "I don’t think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry."

Villaraigosa has tried to take his pro-gay marriage campaign national, leading a group of 80 mayors to pledge their support for it in January. Now that he's got a leading voice in his party's direction, he wants to guide it to a clear, party-wide position in support of the issue, which would go beyond President Barack Obama's "evolving" view. 

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Adam Martin