Gay marriage prominent at [CA] GOP convention [View All]

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http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/02/22/news/state/2_21_0419_08_15.txt

BURLINGAME -- President Bush and other Republicans will benefit from a political backlash against San Francisco's same-sex marriage experiment, according to activists attending the state GOP convention Saturday.

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"I think it helps with our supporters," said Ed Rollins, a strategist for U.S. Senate candidate Bill Jones. "The longer it goes on, and no offense to you folks from San Francisco ... it just makes you look like you're more and more out of touch with the rest of the state and certainly the country."

But in speeches throughout the day and at appearances by the four candidates hoping to challenge Sen. Barbara Boxer this fall, California Republicans also tried to walk a fine line between appealing to their conservative base and avoiding the accusations of intolerance that have plagued the party in recent years. Many party leaders said they would be willing to support a federal constitutional amendment banning gay marriage if San Francisco's actions are not struck down in court.

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But the gathering was also marked by debate over illegal immigration, an issue that caused major problems for the party after the passage of Proposition 187, a Republican-backed measure that would have denied essential services to illegal immigrants.

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Associated Press Writer Michael R. Blood contributed to this story.