A demonstration planned for Thursday by the gay advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon to express concern over a Gordon Smith campaign commercial was thwarted by inclement weather. Four supporters showed up at the Federal Building in downtown Eugene to protest the commercial, which portrays Smith as an advocate and
supporter of gay and lesbian rights.
The commercial features Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, the 21-year-old Wyoming student who was killed in 1998 in an anti-gay motivated hate crime. In the commercial, Judy Shepard endorses Smith’s campaign, saying Matthew “would have liked Gordon a lot.”
Critics say Smith has not always been a supporter of the gay and lesbian rights movement.
Basic Rights Oregon volunteer and Eugene resident Alan Brown suggested that all one has to do to know where he stands on gay and lesbian rights is look at his record.
According to Harriet Merrick, a volunteer and former chairwoman for BRO, Smith voted against Senate Bill 34 in 1993, which would have prohibited discrimination in employment, public accommodations and real property transactions on the basis of sexual orientation.
BRO also takes issue with Smith’s stance on Measure 9. In 2000, the Oregon Citizens Alliance sponsored the measure that sought to prohibit public schools from sanctioning homosexuality.
“He was asked to oppose it,” said Merrick. “He did not.”
Smith’s office was not available for comment at press time.
Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest gay political organization, has endorsed Smith. According to its Web site, the main reason for their endorsement is his sponsorship of the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act in 2001, which broadened the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks based on sexual orientation, gender and disability.
While BRO admits Smith has begun to support federal hate-crime legislation, it claims his record on lesbian and gay issues makes him an unreliable advocate.
“Many folks had seen his TV ad, and we want to focus on his overall record,” Merrick said. “While we appreciate his personal growth in some areas, our feeling is that Gordon Smith’s record is inconsistent and we cannot count on him.”
The steady rains may have diminished the size of Thursday’s event , yet Jan Anderson, a Eugene resident and BRO supporter, was not deterred.
“I found it very informative,” said Anderson, who called Smith’s commercial a “manipulative ploy.”