Oregon Republicans have stripped anti-gay language from their 2012 party platform, a shift toward the political center in a state where the GOP has struggled mightily in recent years.

Wording that essentially condemned same-sex marriage and civil unions, and that stated such couples were unfit to be parents, was removed from the

during a weekend convention in Bend.

"We want the public to take another look at the Republican Party and our policies," said Greg Leo, spokesman for the

. "It's fair to say we're more centrist."

The once-dominant party has faded in Oregon. Democrats hold every statewide office and no Republican has been elected governor since 1987. The one bright spot is the Oregon House, where Republicans managed a 30-30 split with Democrats last election.

Leo said the next election is going to be all about jobs and the economy, and the party does not want social issues to become a distraction.

But the language change didn't come easy. In fact, it was almost defeated, said Xander Almeida, who was among those who pushed to remove a section of the platform seen as denigrating lifestyles and rights of gays and lesbians.

Almeida said his motion to remove the language was first shot down 2-1 by a caucus of members focusing on the "family" section of the platform. He thought his effort was over until he talked to party Chairman Allen Alley, who told him the proposal should go to a full floor vote.

"That's where things really kind of got heated," Almeida said. After a contentious debate, the amendment passed with a bare majority of the 230 delegates who attended.

The change was a conscious effort to attract younger voters -- as well as more gays and lesbians -- to the party, said Almeida, 26, a Portland vaudevillian who works with the local band Vagabond Opera. Almeida, a former president of College Republicans at Portland State University, said the language was unnecessarily hostile to a specific group, many of whom may agree with the party's pro-business stands.

Also, he said, "a lot of younger Republicans don't feel as though this kind of rhetoric has any place in a small government agenda. If we want to do small government, shouldn't we get government out of the bedroom as well?"

Language supporting marriage as between one man and one woman remains intact in the party's platform, but that merely comports with Oregon's constitution, he said. The national Republican Party platform contains a section that strongly supports traditional marriage and calls for a constitutional amendment that would prevent states from adopting other legal arrangements.

The Oregon GOP change "makes a strong statement," said James Moore, political analyst at Pacific University. "The statement that it makes is they have seen the social conservative platform hasn't really gained them many new voters."

The vote also suggests the party is betting it won't lose too many voters over the issue, he said. Reaction to the decision was generally favorable.

"It appears that the change to the platform is further indication that people are becoming more aware that denying same-sex couples access to civil marriage negatively impacts all our families," said Jeana Frazzini, executive director of

, a Portland group that advocates for gay, lesbian and transgender rights.

Leo said the change was only one part of an effort to "streamline" the state GOP platform so it's more attractive to a broader range of voters.

"There was a move to take out language that was more controversial," he said. "People will find it's a shorter, easier to read and a more persuasive document."

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