Democratic State Senate Nominee Mike Barrett has won endorsements from the Mass Alliance and MassEquality, two groups that promote progressive causes.

Mass Alliance is a coalition of groups such as Young Democrats of Massachusetts and the Mass. chapter of the National Organization for Women.  MassEquality, an advocate for the LGBT community, helped pass anti-bullying legislation in 2010 and joined the successful fight last year for the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the military’s policy on gays in the armed services.

On winning the endorsement of Mass Alliance, Barrett said, “From organized labor to environmental organizations, working with disparate interests is essential to getting things done in the Legislature, so I’m delighted by this endorsement.”

Barrett has been fighting on behalf of LGBT constituents for decades.  After his successful effort in the 1990s to pass the first law in Massachusetts barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts praised him for exercising “enormous political skill” and showing “great courage and independence.”

Barrett’s belief in marriage equality is not shared by his opponent.  “I believe marriage is between a man and a woman,” Republican candidate Sandi Martinez says pointedly on her website.