BRO endorses Merkley

Basic Rights Oregon, the state’s leading gay and lesbian advocacy group, announced Monday it was endorsing Jeff Merkley (D-Portland) in Oregon’s Senate race.

It’s an unusual move for the group; it’s only the third time they have endorsed a federal candidate in an election. According to a release from BRO, a television ad released by U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Pendleton) Friday that touted him as a friend of gays and lesbians because of his work on the Matthew Sheppard Act inspired it to make it clear that only one candidate was for gay rights in Oregon’s senate race. And the group says it’s not Smith.

“There is only one thing that fair-minded Oregonians can count on from Gordon Smith, and that is that every six years, he will roll out a hate crimes advertisement in the Portland media market in an effort to look like a moderate,” BRO executive director Jeana Frazzini said. “But most national and local gay organizations know the truth about Gordon Smith, and that’s why they decline to endorse him.”

Frazzini cited Smith’s 2004 support of Measure 36, which successfully amended Oregon’s state constitution to define marriage as limited to a man and a woman, as proof that Smith was not a friend to the gay community.

“It’s one thing to have a difference of opinion about marriage,” Frazzini said. “But Smith actively campaigned to make gay and lesbian Oregonians into second class citizens by denying them equal treatment under the law. I cannot emphasize this enough: Gordon Smith is not a friend to this community.”

In contrast, Frazzini said, Merkley stood by legislation that allowed for domestic partnerships to become legal in Oregon.

“As House Speaker, Jeff led the charge on passing Oregon’s nondiscrimination law, ensuring that no one can lose their home or be fired from their job just because they are gay,” Frazzini said. “And he championed Oregon’s domestic partnership law, giving committed couples the legal recognition they need to care for one another in a crisis. We need a fighter like Jeff Merkley in the U.S. Senate.”

Calls to Smith’s campaign were not immediately returned.