BRENDAN FARRINGTON
Associated Press, printed in Bradenton Herald

TALLAHASSEE - Gay and lesbian Democrats sometimes face a difficult position when trying to promote political issues of personal interest: They know some in their party aren't on their side, and they believe Republicans use the issues to divide voters.

So the Florida Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender (GLBT) Democratic Caucus met Saturday to address their dual goals - seeking equal rights for their members and electing Democrats regardless of how they stand on gay issues.

Democrats have become more willing to accept homosexuals as people who deserve the same rights as others, while Republicans have moved even further to the extreme against gays, U.S. Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts said.

Gay marriage would be the most obvious example of an issue important to the group, yet one that not all Democratic leaders support and one that Republicans have latched onto in opposition.

But GLBT members believe they need to support Democrats opposed to gay marriage for the sake of seeking change on issues that affect a broader range of Americans.

"This is not the time to take our marbles and go home, there are too many issues at stake," said Brian Bond, executive director of the Democratic National Committee's Gay & Lesbian Leadership Council.

And there's a growing recognition in the party that the GLBT could be effective in politics.

U.S. Rep. Allen Boyd, D-Fla., voted for a constitutional amendment that would have defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman, yet he addressed the GLBT members and asked them to rally support for Democrats based on three other issues: Republicans' foreign policy in the Middle East, recent corruption scandals in Washington and the growing national debt.

"I see a group of folks, a group of Democrats, organizing to make a change and have an impact on the political process," said Boyd. "That's why I'm here."

So why was he invited, given his opposition to gay marriage?

"It's an education for everybody," said Florida GLBT president Michael Albetta. "He can see we are voters, we do not have horns and tails. We are regular people who are taxpayers and also happen to be Democrats."

Democratic gubernatorial candidates U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, and state Sen. Rod Smith, D-Alachua, were scheduled to address the group at a cocktail reception later Saturday.

One notable absence was U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Melbourne, who Albetta said has "time and time again" declined invitations to the group's events, sometimes instead sending aides who will only talk in private rather than publicly address the group.

Republican Party of Florida spokesman Jeff Sadosky disputed contentions that Republicans use the issue like gay marriage and flag burning to divide.

"I have a problem with defining them as wedge issues when the majority of Americans feel just the same," he said. "We welcome anyone and everyone, the Republican Party is a big tent party, but at the same time we do believe certain things and one of those things is that marriage is a commitment between one man and one woman."