As both campaigns make a pitch for gay and lesbian voters, a group of gay Republicans endorsed Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. for governor yesterday.
Joe Zuber, vice president of the Maryland chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, said it decided to back the GOP nominee after Ehrlich met with the group and convinced them that he is committed to tolerance.
"We have never heard Ehrlich speak nasty of the gay agenda. There are things he felt he could not endorse for various reasons, but it is not because he despises gays," said Zuber, who noted that his group donated $4,000 to Ehrlich's campaign.
Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is also taking steps to shore up her support among gay voters, who traditionally have been a Democratic constituency.
Townsend hired Blake Humphreys, former director of Free State Justice, a statewide gay rights organization, to rally gay and lesbian voters around the Democratic ticket.
"Kathleen is a strong advocate for civil rights. She has been great for our community," Humphreys said. "Ehrlich is trying to paint himself as a moderate when he is a Newt Gingrich Republican."
Humphreys said the Townsend campaign is distributing 25,000 pieces of literature highlighting her role in getting legislation passed last year that added gays and lesbians to the groups protected by state law banning discrimination in housing and employment.
According to Townsend campaign literature, she believes gay couples should be allowed to adopt children - which is legal in Maryland - and supports offering hate-crime protections to gay and transgender people. She also supports domestic partnership benefits for workers and legal recognition of gay relationships.
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay civil rights group, has endorsed her.
Townsend's literature criticizes Ehrlich's record on gay rights, saying he opposes gay adoptions, domestic-partner benefits and adding gays to hate-crime legislation.
Ehrlich said he opposed the bill adding gays to Maryland's anti-discrimination law because he believes that "gay people should not be treated as a separate class." He said he comes from the "libertarian wing" of his party that believes that "government should be kept out of the bedroom."
Of gay adoption, Ehrlich said yesterday that he prefers that a child be raised with a mother and father but that he would be inclined to permit gays to adopt as a last resort.
Don Davis, owner of Central Station, a Mount Vernon bar that caters to gays, held a fund-raiser for Ehrlich in September that drew more than 100 people. "I have been in the gay club business for 16 years, and this is the first time I have ever heard so many of my clientele say they are supporting a Republican," Davis said.
"They way they see it, there is a gay-rights bill already on the books and [Ehrlich] is not going to rescind that, so what they want now is leadership on other issues," he said.
Joe Zuber, vice president of the Maryland chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, said it decided to back the GOP nominee after Ehrlich met with the group and convinced them that he is committed to tolerance.
"We have never heard Ehrlich speak nasty of the gay agenda. There are things he felt he could not endorse for various reasons, but it is not because he despises gays," said Zuber, who noted that his group donated $4,000 to Ehrlich's campaign.
Democrat Kathleen Kennedy Townsend is also taking steps to shore up her support among gay voters, who traditionally have been a Democratic constituency.
Townsend hired Blake Humphreys, former director of Free State Justice, a statewide gay rights organization, to rally gay and lesbian voters around the Democratic ticket.
"Kathleen is a strong advocate for civil rights. She has been great for our community," Humphreys said. "Ehrlich is trying to paint himself as a moderate when he is a Newt Gingrich Republican."
Humphreys said the Townsend campaign is distributing 25,000 pieces of literature highlighting her role in getting legislation passed last year that added gays and lesbians to the groups protected by state law banning discrimination in housing and employment.
According to Townsend campaign literature, she believes gay couples should be allowed to adopt children - which is legal in Maryland - and supports offering hate-crime protections to gay and transgender people. She also supports domestic partnership benefits for workers and legal recognition of gay relationships.
The Human Rights Campaign, the largest U.S. gay civil rights group, has endorsed her.
Townsend's literature criticizes Ehrlich's record on gay rights, saying he opposes gay adoptions, domestic-partner benefits and adding gays to hate-crime legislation.
Ehrlich said he opposed the bill adding gays to Maryland's anti-discrimination law because he believes that "gay people should not be treated as a separate class." He said he comes from the "libertarian wing" of his party that believes that "government should be kept out of the bedroom."
Of gay adoption, Ehrlich said yesterday that he prefers that a child be raised with a mother and father but that he would be inclined to permit gays to adopt as a last resort.
Don Davis, owner of Central Station, a Mount Vernon bar that caters to gays, held a fund-raiser for Ehrlich in September that drew more than 100 people. "I have been in the gay club business for 16 years, and this is the first time I have ever heard so many of my clientele say they are supporting a Republican," Davis said.
"They way they see it, there is a gay-rights bill already on the books and [Ehrlich] is not going to rescind that, so what they want now is leadership on other issues," he said.