WASHINGTON (ABP) — Both sides of the gay-marriage debate found something to cheer in an Oregon judge's April 20 decision to put a halt to the same-sex marriages that one county in the state had been performing.
Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden ordered a halt to gay marriages in that county, the state's most populous and home to the city of Portland. Officials there had been issuing same-sex marriage licenses since March 3, when county supervisors decided that their policy against offering marriage licenses to gay couples violated the Oregon Constitution.
However, Bearden also ordered the state registrar to record the more than 3,000 same-sex couples who have been married in Portland since March 3. He agreed that denying the couples the more than 500 state benefits that accrue to married couples would be impermissible under the state constitution.
Bearden further ordered the Oregon legislature to deal with the issue of same-sex marriage within 90 days of the beginning of its next session, which convenes in June. He said the legislators would have to find a way to provide equal protection to same-sex couples — whether through full-fledged marriage or a “civil union”-type arrangement that extends the same benefits as marriage.
He also said the Oregon Supreme Court could further settle the issue. However, that is unlikely to happen before the legislature's deadline. Bearden said he would order Multnomah County to begin re-issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples if the legislature fails to act by the 90-day deadline.
Bearden's ruling is virtually certain to be appealed.
The county had been the last municipality in the United States still marrying same-sex couples after judges ordered city or county officials in California, New York and New Mexico to cease similar actions over the last two months.
However, that will change May 17, when a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling ordering that state to begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples takes effect.
Legislators in that state have given initial approval to a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but it will not take effect for at least another year. Massachusetts anti-gay-marriage groups have filed a motion with the court to stay its ruling until the amendment process is played out. However, most legal observers don't believe the court will grant the motion.
One Washington-based conservative group that has been fighting against gay marriage offered limited praise to the Oregon ruling. “Today's decision is a victory for those of us who were seeking an immediate stop to the illegal distribution of same-sex 'marriage' licenses,” said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins in an April 20 press release.
“However, the court's logic is flawed in stating that it is the Oregon Supreme Court who ultimately must decide the fate of marriage in that state,” Perkins continued. “Public policy decisions, especially those as far-reaching as the radical redefinition of marriage, are meant to be determined by the people and their elected representatives in the legislature, not judges.”
Meanwhile, the head of the nation's largest gay-rights group said Bearden's decision offers some victories to her cause. “Judge Bearden recognized that Oregon can't differentiate between opposite-sex and same-sex couples when doling out the rights of marriage,” said Human Rights Campaign President Cheryl Jacques in an April 20 statement. “To do otherwise would be fundamentally wrong.”
However, Jacques said offering marriage-like civil unions in Oregon — similar to what is already practiced in Vermont — would be an insufficient resolution. “We hope the appeals court recognizes that marriages, and only marriages, provide true equality for same-sex couples,” she said. “Vermont's civil unions were a great step forward, but they provide only a limited portion of rights.”
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