It's not often that you see Republicans using gay rights as the positive foundation for a campaign commercial, but Oregonian Senator Gordon Smith is not your regular Republican.

The politico this weekend released an advert highlighting his support for gay-inclusive federal hate crime laws, measures Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy also supported.

Judy Shepard, whose son Matthew was murdered a decade ago, an event Smith's commercial invokes, praised the ad, saying: "I support Gordon. He’s been with us on everything except the gay marriage vote. He has shown tremendous leadership and compassion for all of our legislation. To lose that would be terrible."

Gay group Basic Rights Oregon, which has previously endorsed Smith, came out against the ad, and specifically took on the Senator's opposition to gay marriage. "…Gordon Smith was a poster child for 2004’s Measure 36, a (state) constitutional amendment that made gay Oregonians second-class citizens under the law by denying committed couples the security and dignity of marriage," said Basic Rights' executive director, Jeana Frazzini.

The Log Cabin Republicans are backing Smith's reelection.

Oregonian social conservatives hit another road block yesterday. The activists, who are pushing to include two anti-gay initiatives on this November's ballot, claim the state unfairly disqualified many of their petition's 54,900 signatures. A panel of federal judges disagreed:

Austin R. Nimocks, lead lawyer for the group opposing the new law, told a U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel that Oregon's system of qualifying initiatives and referendums was unconstitutional because it arbitrarily discounted some valid signatures.

"The obligation of the state is to make sure the verification is accurate," Nimocks said. "That's not what they are doing."

But Judge Stephen Reinhardt challenged Nimocks, noting that the state's system actually seemed to count more invalid signatures than it excluded valid ones.

"The state could make a better system," Reinhardt said. "But this one actually favors you."

Judges Harry Pregerson and Ted Goodwin also challenged Nimocks. But Reinhardt was the chief inquisitor, at one point concluding that Oregon's system of verifying signatures "doesn't seem unconstitutional."

The judges gave no word on when they would rule, but anti-gay activists are hoping the state will review the verification system and give invalid signatories a chance to plead their case. Kaye McDonald, an assistant in the state's Attorney General's office, said that while the state could, in theory, begin reviewing the signatures, it would take months of legal wrangling and public hearings. And no one wants that - except for social conservatives, of course.

Oregonian social conservatives are none-too-happy this morning. A coalition of anti-gay activists admitted that they failed to garner enough to get two anti-gay initiatives on this November's ballot.

Organizers conceded Monday that their initiatives to repeal two Oregon gay rights laws will not make the November ballot.
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They are targeting two laws passed by the 2007 Legislature. One law banned discrimination against gays in work, housing and public places such as restaurants.

The other created domestic partnerships, civil union-like contracts that give government recognition and most of the state benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples.
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Basic Rights Oregon, the state's largest gay rights group, challenged ballot titles for the initiatives in April and May with petitions to the Oregon Supreme Court.

The court has yet to rule, and until it does, initiative supporters cannot collect signatures. With the July 3 deadline less than three weeks away, initiative supporters concede they will not have time to collect the 82,769 signatures they need for each initiative.

Still, the right wingers insist they'll meet their mark before the end of days.

Pregnant trans man Thomas Beatie's within weeks of birthing his first child.

As he and wife Nancy get their nursery together, stock up on diapers and other baby-related goods, big questions remain for the happily queer couple, like how to make sure he - the "gestational carrier" - is not listed as the baby's mother.

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Today's Indiana and North Carolina primary votes haven't yet been totally tallied, but Hillary Clinton's already looking toward Oregon, which holds its vote on May 20.

The Senator recently released a new ad - included after the jump - urging Oregonians to vote for her education, Iraq and, for hippies, environmental policies. She will also visit that state later this week. (Obama's also planning a visit in the near future.)

Also, rumor has it that Chelsea Clinton - who popped into Portland's massively gay "Red Dress Party" - will head to the state to make a play for the lesbians. How appropriate. From Willamette Week:

Just got word there is a very strong possibility that my new friend Chelsea Clinton is heading back to Portland for a very special appearance on Tuesday, May 13.

Chelsea will be collecting ballots alongside out and very proud recording artist Sophie B. Hawkins.

Where will they be doing all this?

Well, the Egyptian Club (aka the E-Room ) of course, Portland's one and only lesbian bar.

It's only fitting that the former first daughter hit the lesbians - Oregon is, after all, the Beaver State.

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Oregonian politics sure are queer.

In the run-up to local elections, newpaper Willamette Week sponsors an annual event called "Candidates Gone Wild," where city hall hopefuls - well, go wild.

Homo-politico and Portland city commissioner Sam Adams made an appearance, as he's currently running for mayor. And, in addition to bringing all the fixings for a milkshake, Adams also brought along a leather and spandex clad Randy Leonard, also a commissioner.

The results are, quite simply, astonishing.

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton took some time off the campaign trail this weekend to hang with Oregonian homos. Clinton and about 2,000 of her closest queers donned their reddest, gayest apparel for the Red Dress party, a drag event that raises money to help fight HIV/AIDS.

Chelsea doesn't appear to be wearing a dress - a party requirement - but she did spend a few hours getting to know the boys before bouncing off to Philadelphia.

Senator Gary George inspires rage this morning, readers. The Oregonian Senator, who's hoping to repeal his state's Equality Act told Just Out magazine that harassed gays should learn to "shut up". Literally.

George's argument's a familiar one: the Equality Act, which protects queers from discrimination, simply gives gays "special rights," which, George says, run contrary to America's equality-for-all argument. Similar arguments are often made about affirmative action, a comparison not lost on George:

If I discriminate in favor of you it automatically requires I discriminate against someone else. I was hoping with your generation we can stop calling each other ‘Asian-American,' or 'Latino-American'… I have dear dear friends in the legislature who are black but sometimes I really get tired of hearing about their color.

Yeah, race can be exhausting. And so can right wing politicians who don't understand the beauty of human difference.

It's only downhill from there, especially when George offers some ill-conceived advice to gays who face occupational discrimination…

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