We like Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Sure, he might have accepted an extra Lakers play-off ticket or two, but the one-time juvenile delinquent, still tattooed with the slogan "Born to Raise Hell," knows how to stand up for a cause.

And he'll do just that in Charlotte in September, when he tries to make gay marriage part of the party's national platform. Says the Chicago Tribune:

When Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was speaker of the California assembly in the 1990s, he introduced an anti-discrimination bill, which he said would protect the lesbian, gay and transgender community from inequality.

Now, in his new role as chairman of the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Villaraigosa is taking his conviction to the national stage, hoping to make gay marriage part of the Democratic party's national platform.

"I think it's basic to who we are. I believe in family values, and I believe that we all ought to be able to have a family and to marry if you want to," Villaraigosa says. "I don't think the government should be allowed to be in the business of denying people the fundamental right to marry."

Too bad he won't be here in May.

Read the entire Tribune piece here.