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MEDIA CONTACT:
Roberta Sklar, Director of Communications
media@theTaskForce.org
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From Matt Foreman, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director

Dear National Gay and Lesbian Task Force supporters,

I've been in Oregon the past couple of days with the extraordinary people working to defeat this state's anti-marriage amendment. The energy and enthusiasm - and focus - are unbelievable and I wish I had a better way to communicate that to you. Saturday and Sunday (like many weekends before), hundreds of volunteers turned out to help - not only Oregonians, but dozens from all across the country that we recruited to donate their time - PFLAG parents from California, a business executive from New York, a trans woman from New Jersey, a retiree from Washington state, and many, many more.

The campaign here is unique for many reasons. First, it has raised enough money - around $2.8 million -- to run a competitive TV, radio advertising and field campaigns. Second, the campaign is the most sophisticated ever mounted by the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. Yesterday, for example, separate waves of volunteers were dispatched to the homes of voters previously identified as being moveable and to voters previously identified as being pro-LGBT, but for whom no telephone numbers were available. And third, this campaign is the first one ever to talk to voters directly about marriage - with other messages, like not using the state constitution to hurt people, being secondary and tertiary themes. In other words, we are taking the issue head on.

Unfortunately, the campaign is also unique in the amount of money our opponents have admitted to spending - more than $1.5 million. That is more than what anti-amendment forces are reporting in any of the other 10 states, by far. And, of course, this does not include all the money churches have invested, including distributing an ugly pro-amendment video to their congregations during worship services. In recent days, they have made thousands of calls, did a statewide mailing and ran ads claiming that if the amendment is defeated, public school teachers will be required to teach children about gay sex as early as kindergarten! The mailing includes a picture and quote from U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR), who has been previously endorsed by our allies at HRC because of his support for Hate Crimes legislation and other issues. He's refused to publicly disassociate himself from the smear.

How will we do? It's extremely difficult to tell. It feels very much like a race against the clock. Oregonians vote by mail (or by dropping their ballots off at a library or elections office) and as of last Friday, ballots from over half the state's registered voters had already been received. With both public and internal polls showing our side rapidly closing the gap, that means there are fewer and fewer available voters to persuade. The last public poll came out on Friday, and it showed the amendment passing 50% to 46%.

In addition, our tracking has shown some "wrong way" voters -- they think they are supporting marriage equality by voting "yes" on the amendment instead of "no." The campaign quickly adjusted key talking points to stress "no" and tracking shows the adjustments worked.

What do we know? We know that at least one poll shows we started out 27 points behind. We know that we have to do well in Multnomah County, where Portland is located. If we can get 58% of the vote here, we will be in good shape. If not, we won't. Polls close here at 8pm (11pm Eastern), and it's not clear when statewide results will be available. It could be a long night. As we've said in the past, if we win, it will be by a razor thin margin.

But there's something else I know right now: win or lose at the polls, this campaign has caused a sea change here in Oregon. The issue on the table is not whether we deserve protections from discrimination, but, why don't we deserve full equality? Just four years ago, civil unions were considered radical. We know that in less than four months, we have moved at least 20% of the electorate to our side. Extraordinary. Unbelievable!

Finally, I am so proud of our Task Force staff here in Oregon - Dave Fleischer, Thalia Zepatos, Rodney McKenzie, Jason Cooper, Monique Hoeflinger, Don Rodrigues, Elias Rojas, Rebecca Ahuja, Jonathan Boland, Cal Labbe and Moof Mayeda -- stellar.

In closing, thank you for supporting the Task Force. Thanks to you, in so many ways we've already won and we're ready and anxious to keep on fighting.

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The mission of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force is to build the political power of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community from the ground up. We do this by training activists, organizing broad-based campaigns to defeat anti-LGBT referenda and advance pro-LGBT legislation, and by building the organizational capacity of our movement. Our Policy Institute, the movement’s premier think tank, provides research and policy analysis to support the struggle for complete equality and to counter right-wing lies. As part of a broader social justice movement, we work to create a nation that respects the diversity of human expression and identity and creates opportunity for all. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., we also have offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis and Cambridge.