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From the Baltimore Sun

Politics comes out of the closet


by Laura Vozzella
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

There's a nasty pink political flier floating around Maryland's 1st Congressional District, and don't blame prepster-candidate Robert Banks. The gist of the piece -- purportedly paid for by Progressive Marylanders for Social Justice -- is that incumbent Wayne Gilchrest has been a friend to gays.

"That took courage, conviction and... family Loyalty," the flier says. "Wayne's Brother David married his 16-year partner at a service on the beach in Massachusetts."

For the record, Gilchrest does have a gay brother who married his partner in Massachusetts. But Progressive Marylanders for Social Justice, the group credited on the authority line, is a fictitious organization. The Gilchrest campaign says the flier is a dirty trick courtesy of one of his Republican challengers, state Sen. Andy Harris.

Equality Maryland, a real gay-rights group, accused Harris of a similar trickery in November 2006, when he beat back Democratic challenger Pat Foerster. Constituents in the conservative district received middle-of-the-night robo calls from the nonexistent "Gay and Lesbian Push," urging them to support Foerster. Equality Maryland complained at the time.

"Unfortunately, this is not surprising," said Gilchrest chief of staff Tony Caligiuri. "But it's so below the dignity of anybody who wants to be a member of Congress that it's just really sad."

Harris campaign manager Chris Meekins said he knew nothing about the flier or any robo calls from the 2006 race, which he did not manage.

"We've run a very open and honest campaign," he added. "Andy's always been willing to put his name front and center.... I would not be surprised if the Gilchrest campaign made this up to try to smear a sitting state senator."

In fact, Meekins suggested his opposition research had come up short -- at least in the realm of gay relatives marrying in Massachusetts (on the beach, no less).

"His brother is married? I didn't even know that."