Democrats release 2012 platform

The Democratic Party released its 2012 platform on Monday night, unveiling the party's plan to strengthen the middle-class and protect Americans' civil rights.

The platform endorses same sex marriage and a woman's right to terminate her pregnancy. It also calls for higher taxes on wealthy Americans, reforming the financial system, increasing government transparency, and limiting outside campaign spending.

"In 2008, Democrats, independents, and many Republicans came together as Americans to move our country forward," the preamble of the platform states. "We were in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, the previous administration had put two wars on our nation’s credit card, and the American Dream had slipped out of reach for too many."

"Today, our economy is growing again, al-Qaeda is weaker than at any point since 9/11, and our manufacturing sector is growing for the first time in more than a decade," it continues. "But there is more we need to do, and so we come together again to continue what we started."

[Democratic Party website via Juan Camilo Bernal / Shutterstock.com]