BOSTON - Oregon's Democratic Party Chairman Jim Edmunson lives next door to a lesbian couple who wed last spring, when gay nuptials were legal in Portland and Oregon was abuzz with debate over same-sex marriages.

The firsthand experience, he said, has helped to shape his perceptions of gay matrimony.

"I see them out mowing their lawn. They plant the same type of flowers as I do," Edmunson said. "It's great to see them so happy."

Edmunson is not alone in his views. The Oregon delegation to the Democratic National Convention has one of the highest levels of support for gay marriage among those attending this year's gathering.

An Associated Press survey of 53 of Oregon's 58 delegates found that 81 percent supported gay marriage, while the remainder supported some form of civil union for gay couples.

Sen. John Kerry, who is expected to collect the Democratic presidential nomination at this week's convention, opposes amending the Constitution to ban gay marriage but supports civil unions that would provide same-sex couples with the same legal rights as heterosexual spouses.

Multnomah County, which includes much of metropolitan Portland, legalized gay marriage last winter. County officials issued 3,042 marriage licenses to same-sex couples before the Oregon attorney general's office and a coalition of conservative groups and pastors filed suit to put a stop to it. Appeals are pending before the state Supreme Court.

The only other state where Democratic delegates showed strong support for gay marriage was Massachusetts, where same-sex weddings are currently legal. Roughly 80 percent of Massachusetts delegates supported gay marriage, according to an Associated Press survey.

Nationally, support for gay marriage among Democratic delegates was about 41 percent.

"In states where same-sex couples have married, it has changed people's views," said Rebecca Cassell, spokeswoman for Basic Rights Oregon. "It has touched people in a personal way. It is no longer seen as a threat."

Tim Nashif, political director for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said the Oregon delegate survey reflects the views of "the 30 or 40 most active people in the left wing of the party" and not the general views of Oregonians.

"The Democratic Party in Oregon is dominated by the left, always has been," Nashif said.

For delegate Judy Sugnet, a retired state worker from Salem, support for gay marriage was simply a reflection of her support for her brother, who married his partner of 15 years.

"They're a great couple," Sugnet said. "They're picking us up from the airport when we get back" from the Boston convention.