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The chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, said during a Politico function on Wednesday that he supports the gay marriage legalization plank in his party’s platform.

“I think it’s basic to who we are,” Villaraigosa said of the issue he has long supported. “I believe in family values and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and marry if you want to. I don’t think the government should be in that business of denying people the fundamental right to marry.”

Villaraigosa also criticized the GOP for wading into social issues.  

"The Republicans have gotten so far out of the mainstream," according to the mayor. "I mean, at a time when all of us should be focused on the economy, they’re focused on contraception and mammograms."  

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L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appears in a video released this morning to publicize the Democratic Party's 2012 National Convention. 

The message comes after he was asked to chair the convention this summer in Charlotte, N.C.

In the footage released by the DNC, Villaraigosa asks for change and collaboration:

[via City Maven]

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