Ore. County Refuses All Marriages

Says Issuing Licenses To Only Some Couples Discriminates

(CBS/AP)  Under fire for issuing licenses for same-sex marriages, an Oregon county has now decided not to issue licenses for any couples, saying to do so would be to discriminate against one group in favor of another.

Benton County commissioners voted unanimously Monday in an emergency meeting to undo last week's 2-1 vote that authorized issuing licenses to same-sex couples. They re-stated their belief that under Oregon's constitution, gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights as heterosexual couples, reports the Eugene Register-Guard.

"It is in everyone's best interests to stand by and recognize that all citizens receive equal treatment from their government," said Board of Commissioners chair Linda Modrell.

The legal disputes in Oregon over the legality of gay marriages will be put on the fast track to the state supreme court under a lawsuit that is being prepared by the American Civil Liberties Union.

The civil rights group will bring the suit on behalf of nine gay couples from three Oregon counties, who intend to sue the state in Multnomah County Circuit Court for failing to register their same-sex marriages in the office of vital statistics. The lawsuit was expected by noon Wednesday.

It consolidated several other legal challenges to gay marriage brought by conservative lawmakers and Christian pastors, after Multnomah County commissioners decided three weeks ago to grant the licenses.

Dave Fidanque, executive director of the Oregon American Civil Liberties Union, approves of Benton County's ban on all marriage licenses.

"By not issuing marriage licenses to anyone, they've eliminated the constitutional problem," Fidanque said. "Now, we have one county in Oregon - Multnomah - saying the logical consequence is to give licenses to everyone and another - Benton - saying you can't give them to anyone."

The nine couples in the suit were recruited by Basic Rights Oregon, the gay rights group that has been most responsible for pushing the issue in Oregon. The couples live in Multnomah, Benton and Lane counties, said Jan Carson, associate director of the ACLU's office in Portland.

The couples will file as representatives of "hundreds of thousands of other couples in the state" who cannot have their same-sex marriages registered, Carson said.

Kevin Neely, spokesman for Attorney General Hardy Myers, said the state will file its response by April 5, and a decision by Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden is expected by the end of that month under an expedited process agreed to by both opponents and supporters of gay marriage. That will set the stage for an immediate appeal to the Oregon Supreme Court. But Neely warned there was no way to predict how fast the case will reach the state's highest court.

Under an agreement reached Friday between the ACLU, the state attorney general's office and opponents of gay marriage, the Defense of Marriage Coalition will be allowed to intervene to represent opponents of gay marriage. The coalition has agreed to drop other lawsuits when that happens.

The expected filing follows a decision Monday by Benton County commissioners to postpone issuing licenses for both gay and heterosexual couples until a ruling is handed down in the Multnomah County case. The attorney general had pressed commissioners to reconsider issuing the licenses so the issue could be decided more efficiently in a single lawsuit in Multnomah County.

Benton County's decision to issue the licenses followed in the footsteps of Multnomah County, home of Portland, and raised the possibility of a mixed system of marriage in Oregon, with some counties allowing gay marriage and others forbidding it.

Gov. Ted Kulongoski has urged county officials to allow the courts to settle the issue, although Defense of Marriage Coalition has also filed an initiative for a statewide ballot measure to approve a state constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to a man and a woman.

Meanwhile Tuesday, a gay member of Congress on Tuesday challenged supporters of a constitutional ban on same-sex marriages, asking "who are we hurting?" when homosexuals want to express the same emotional commitment as other Americans.

"All we are saying is, 'Please, can't we in our lives do this?'" said Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. "When I go home from today's work and I choose because of my nature to associate with another man, how is that a problem for you? How does that hurt you?"

He drew no immediate reply from Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans supporting the proposed amendment.

Frank's appeal was unusual in Congress, where lawmakers clash vigorously on matters of politics and policy, but seldom refer to their personal lives — much less sexual orientation — in an attempt to influence legislation.

His remarks were supplemented by more traditional criticism from Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle, who accused unnamed supporters of the amendment of seeking to use it for political gain. "There are those who would like to politicize this issue and they'll use whatever means available to them to maximize whatever value they find politically," said the South Dakota lawmaker. He said he opposes the measure, adding that supporters are "not even close" to having the two-thirds support needed to prevail.

At the same time, committee approval of what would be the 28th amendment to the Constitution is not in doubt, and the appearances by Frank and other members of Congress as witnesses amounted to a dress rehearsal of the arguments likely to unfold when the matter comes before the full Senate.