Professor Lowenstein wrote:

"However, I doubt whether Mr. Pinello's interlocutor is
correct that it could have been defeated by a campaign
challenging voters to prove they are not biased against
homosexuals.  The reason is that I do not believe most
voters who supported Measure 36 and similar measures
are biased against homosexuals or believe that
preserving the fundamental nature of marriage has
anything to do with bias against anyone.  Supporters of
same-sex marriage tend to see it as an issue of bias or
discrimination, but supporters of marriage as it has
always been do not."

I believe this misses the gentleman's point, which had
to do with how the question was framed.  He was
criticizing the Multnomah County politicians for making
the issue about the status of being married, rather
than about the substantive rights and obligations
involved.  Thus (according to him), the county
triggered a backlash in the form of Measure 36, which
posed the question:  "Should marriage be limited to
couples composed of one man and one woman?" Presumably
most supporters of Measure 36 did not find such a
limitation discriminatory or biased.

The point that I think was being made was that at least
some "swing" voters on gay rights might have taken a
different view if the question had been "Should gays
and lesbians be denied equal legal rights regarding
hospital visitation, intestate sucession, etc.?"  Thus,
a Multnomah-inspired ballot measure extending such
rights to same-sex couples but not giving them the
legal status of "married" might (in this person's
opinion) have passed.  If I recall correctly, opinion
polls have suggested that there is indeed a notable gap
between the percentage of voters who think that
same-sex couples should be denied the substantive
rights and obligations of marriage and the percentage
who would deny those couples the "marriage" label.

So much for voters' self-perception.  As to whether a
law that reserves to the majority legal rights that are
denied to a minority is "really" discriminatory, I
suppose it depends what the meaning of "discrimination"
is.