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- Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card - Place an Ad Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels October 5, 2004 Group urges 'no' on 36 By Chris Honore Tidings Correspondent The controversial Measure 36 was proposed by initiative petition and has been added to this year's election ballot. Dondi Ford-Visser calls residents Monday night, encouraging them to vote "No" on Measure 36. Denise Baratta | Ashland Daily Tidings A "Yes" vote in favor of the measure adds to the Oregon Constitution a declaration of policy that only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage. A "No" vote retains the existing constitution without a provision declaring that only marriage between one man and one woman is valid or legally recognized as marriage. Under current state statutes, a marriage is a civil contract entered into by a male and a female who solemnize the marriage by declaring that "take each other to be husband and wife." There is, however, no provision in the Oregon Constitution governing marriage. The constitution does, however, clearly provide that: "No law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges or immunities, which upon the same terms, shall not equally belong to all citizens." Hence, there is ongoing litigation moving through the courts concerning whether the current one man, one woman marriage statutes are valid under the Oregon Constitution. Multnomah County, for example, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples last March 3. A judge called a halt in late April. Some 3,022 licenses had been issued. The legal status of the licenses issued in Multnomah County is likely headed for the Oregon Supreme Court. In order to put Measure 36 on the ballot, 100,840 signatures were required. Advocates in favor of amending the constitution easily qualified the proposition for the ballot turning in 240,850 signatures, according the state Elections Division. Tim Nashif, a spokesman for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, stated that he was not surprised by the number of signatures collected. It has been reported that he coalition spent about $350,000 to qualify the initiative for the ballot, relying heavily on churches to collect signatures. Though other antigay ballot measures have been taken to the voters in years past, this is the first which calls for a constitutional amendment. No on Constitutional Amendment 36, a Portland based organization, has recently opened a field office on Oak Street in Ashland. Kristy Alberty, one of the local staff members, commented that the purpose of the office is to conduct local outreach and voter education. They will do phone banking and have No on 36 lawn signs and stickers available. She will be here through the campaign. "As a registered Native American who is straight, I am doing this work because I see this as a constitutional issue," Alberty said. "Our constitution is supposed to protect people, not hurt them. A constitutional amendment would create unequal treatment for gay and lesbian Oregonians by permanently banning gay marriage. We can agree or disagree about gay marriage, but let's not put it into the constitution." In a press release dated Sept. 8, the No on 36 coalition listed 100 rights that would be denied gays if the measure were passed. They include the following: o no automatic right to make health care decisions for partner o no right to sue for wrongful death if partner is killed o no vested right to be buried in a cemetery plot with partner o no automatic right to inherit deceased partner's estate o no right to private visits in long-term care facility o no right to file joint tax returns o no right to coverage under partner's health benefit plan o must testify against partner in court case o no automatic right of survivorship for jointly owned property Steve Green, a constitutional law professor at Willamette University, stated in a Sept. 22 news release by No on 36 that "Our constitution is a sacred promise of equality meant to protect our most basic and important rights. It should never be used to settle partisan, religious or ideological debates." The Defense of Marriage Coalition, in contrast, insists that putting measure 36 on the ballot was not about gays, but rather an attempt at arriving at a definition of marriage and creating a standard that is best for society and its children. The viewpoint of the DMC is that to allow gays to legally marry would undermine the institution of marriage and by extension children. Nashif was quoted recently as saying that once marriage extends beyond a man and a woman, it will become meaningless. "Family relationships will become transient. Children will be raised with a revolving door of parents and stepparents," he stated. In its mission statement, the DMC identifies itself as a "bipartisan organization of concerned pastors, elected officials, community leaders and citizens united together to preserve marriage as a union between one man and one woman." In the past eight years, 40 states have instituted defense of marriage acts. This election year 11 states, including Oregon, have constitutional marriage amendments on their ballots. Recent polling by the Portland Tribune found that likely voters support Measure 36 by a significant margin, with 57 percent in favor, 38 percent opposed, and only 5 percent undecided. A poll conducted by Riley Research Associates of Portland early last month found that 61 percent supported the measure with 34 percent opposed and 5 percent undecided. Shauna Shindler Ballo, communications director for No on 36, acknowledged that most people do not approve of gay marriage; however, their polling indicates that the measure is locked in a statistical dead heat when the public is asked if the constitution should be amended. 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