Vote tests Sen. Smith’s pro-gay reputation
Smith
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The senator supports an amendment to ban same-sex marriage
MATTHEW DALY
The Associated Press
July 13, 2004
WASHINGTON — As a conservative Republican, Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith may seem an improbable hero for the gay and lesbian community. His efforts to give gays and lesbians protection under the federal hate crimes law have been hailed from Portland, Ore. to Portland, Maine.
But Smith’s support for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage has put his credibility with gay-rights activists on the line.
Smith said he plans to vote in favor of the Republican proposal, which could come up for a vote in the Senate during the coming week. Smith, a Mormon, called the proposed amendment an important protection for traditional marriage.
“While I am an advocate for many gay rights, I have always said that I am opposed to same-gender marriage,” Smith said. “I believe marriage as has been practiced for thousands of years is a very important cultural ideal that, however imperfectly practiced, is worth preserving.”
Marriage “is about more than consenting adults,” he said. “It’s about the natural nurturing and rearing of children, and I think society has a very important stake in that issue.”
Gay-rights activists are dismayed that Smith would support the amendment, which they call an obvious effort to discriminate against homosexuals. They say they’re puzzled he would do so on something so enduring as a constitutional amendment.
“Senator Smith has a broad and deep record and commitment to gay and lesbian equality. That makes his vote for writing discrimination into the Constitution that much more troubling,” said Winnie Stachelberg, political director for the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay political organization.
The group endorsed Smith in 2002, but its support is at risk with the gay-marriage vote, Stachelberg said.
“This is one of the most fundamental votes the U.S. Senate will cast in a decade,” she said. “We are very clear: We cannot support members of Congress who support this kind of discrimination.”
Basic Rights Oregon, a Portland-based gay rights group, endorsed Smith’s Democratic opponent two years ago but has worked with him on the hate crimes bill and other legislation.
“It’s a disappointment that on the one hand he would be a person who claims to support civil rights, yet he would write discrimination into the nation’s most sacred document,” said Roey Thorpe, the group’s executive director.
“It’s great that Senator Smith believes no one should have to be afraid for their physical safety due to their sexual orientation. That’s not the same as being able to live as an equally valued member of one’s community,” Thorpe said.
Opponents of gay marriage, meanwhile, say it’s no surprise Smith is on their side.
“Well, I know Senator Smith has always been a supporter of traditional marriage. He’s never had to assure me of it because we’ve always known that,” said Tim Nashif, political director of the Defense of Marriage Coalition, a Portland-based group that collected more than 244,000 signatures to place a gay marriage ban on the Oregon ballot this fall.
Nashif, chairman of the Multnomah County Republican Party, called gay marriage a separate issue from hate crimes and said Smith is well within the mainstream in Oregon and around the country in defending traditional marriage.
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Contact Smith
404 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510, (202) 224-3753, fax, (202) 228-3997; 121 SW Salmon St., Suite 1250, Portland, OR 97204, (503) 326-3386; fax, (503) 326-2900; Web site, gsmith.senate.gov
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