The SDCC sent the following emergency press release following a very homophobic mailer that dropped yesterday.

Seattle, WA â€” November 2 – Yesterday, the day before Election Day, Senate Republicans hit the 48th Legislative District with a mail piece attacking Senator Rodney Tom for his support of equality and Washingtonâ€™s LGBT community. Paid for through several political committees by the Senate Republican Campaign Committee, the piece cites Senator Tomâ€™s October 20 interview with Publicola and his support of marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples and then lists perceived consequences this would have for straight couples. These include the, â€œEnd of no-fault divorceâ€¦[the] repeal of custody rightsâ€¦[and] no more community property.â€ Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown decries the mailer as, â€œA last ditch effort on Mike Hewittâ€™s part with little foundation in reality. It implies that if you are in favor of gay rights, then you are against womenâ€™s rights, which is false. In addition, it implies that Rodney is against womenâ€™s rights and that heâ€™s harassed women, both of which are completely untrue. Itâ€™s genuinely repulsive and represents a new low in Washington State politics.â€ This isnâ€™t the first time Republican leadership has deceived the electorate with an outright lie regarding a Senatorâ€™s position this election season. Two weeks ago, the Spokesman Review decried a television ad against incumbent Senator Chris Marr. The ad said that Marr had made cruel remarks to female employees at his place of business. Appalled by the blatant lies in the ad, the woman quoted came forward of her own will refuting any inappropriate activity. The Spokeman Review saw the ad for what it was, â€œScumbaggy.â€ Sorely embarrassed, funders of the Leadership Council demanded that Senate Republicans pull the ad, which he did. This mail piece is just as deplorable and just as disgusting. Chris Gregorich of the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee, â€œThis is the most nonsensical political ad of the entire election cycle and itâ€™s very telling that the Republican leadership would release it a day before election day. If such a blatantly homophobic and embarrassing ad were sent out any earlier, there would be a media firestorm in response. They are so desperate for a majority, they are willing to use hate, intolerance, and misinformation to mislead Washington voters.â€

Josh Friedes, Executive Director of Equal Rights Washington, told me via e-mail, “Rodney Tom has championed basic civil rights for Washington’s gay and lesbian families. Nothing should anger fair minded voters more than when people attack a legislator by telling voters that a legislators support for gay rights will hurt women. It’s the most absurd claim out there and it is a blatant lie. But this is exactly the attack being levied against State Senator Rodney Tom in the 48th district. And of course Tom’s opponents know that their mailer is false, that’s why they waited until the last minute so that the pro-choice community and gay rights community, which overlap considerably, would not have time to respond. But voters in the 48th can respond by reminding each other of the importance for voting for Rodney Tom.

“The content of the mailer itself ironically demonstrates the support that exists in the 48th for LGBT civil rights. Years ago hatemongers could argue with some degree of success that one should not support a candidate because they support gay rights, but times have changed and today the majority of voters in Washington State support gay rights, so the arguments used by the right are changing. The right today is trying to make ridiculous claims that supporting gay rights will hurt women or other historically discriminated against groups. What the right doesn’t want the people of the 48th district to know is that last year it was the pro-choice community, and over 30 organizations representing communities of color who helped propel referendum 71 to victory. Referendum 71 upheld the states domestic partnership law. A law Rodney Tom supported, a law supported by the people of the 48th.”