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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, January 26, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend March 13, 2004 Myers steers same-sex marriage to high court Staff and wire reports SALEM — Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers said Friday that banning same-sex marriage probably violates Oregon’s Constitution, effectively placing the issue in the hands of the state’s highest court. Myers’ nonbinding written opinion also said current state law forbids counties from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, as Multnomah County has been doing for about a week. "The Oregon Supreme Court likely would conclude that withholding from same-sex couples the legal rights, benefits and obligations that under current law are automatically granted to married couples of the opposite sex violates" the constitution, Myers said. Myers’ opinion is not binding on counties, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski said at a news conference that the opinion is "fraught with warnings to be careful" about drawing conclusions about any ruling by the high court on the issue. Advertisement Jackson County Clerk Kathy Beckett said her office would continue issuing marriage licenses only to opposite-sex couples, adding that she felt the state "absolutely faces major issues about the equal protection clause" of the Oregon Constitution. "We’ll stay the course," said Beckett, who last week decided against licensing same sex marriages. "But the Legislature and Supreme Court need a lot of discussion over constitutional issues on this because same-sex couples are being denied a lot of constitutional rights." Beckett added that she expects the State Court of Appeals (and the Supreme Court) to soon get a case from Multnomah County and hoped such a challenge would not originate here because the fiscal impact could be considerable. The gay marriage issue surfaced in Oregon about a week ago, when commissioners in Multnomah County, Oregon’s most populous, concluded that a legal review of state law indicated the county could not deny license applications from gays and lesbians. Since then, about 2,000 gay couples have flocked to Portland to be married, most from Oregon and Washington, but others from as far away as Alabama and New Mexico. San Francisco started gay marriages about a month ago, but on Thursday, the California Supreme Court ordered an immediate halt to the marriages. Kulongoski said he hoped Multnomah County would issue no further licenses so there is a uniform practice across Oregon, though the state won’t try to compel the county to stop. Stephanie Soden, a spokeswoman for Multnomah County, said the county will continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples while "looking into" Myers’ opinion. Gordon Owsley of Ashland, past chairman of the Lesbian-Gay Bisexual and Transgender Caucus of Southern Oregon, said he was "extremely disappointed" with the attorney general’s opinion. "It’s extremely unfair," he said. "Gays and lesbians became a protected class in 1999 when the Legislature protected same-sex benefits for domestic partners. The attorney general is waffling. He put the responsibility for this decision on someone else’s shoulders. I thought he would have more backbone and could stand up to the right wing, but he’s up for re-election and just picked up an opponent. It’s all political." Marianne Ozmun, 39, who drove to Portland from Shelton, Wash., on Friday to get a marriage license with her longtime partner, Jody Wells, said she hoped the county would persevere. "I have cried so many times in the last three weeks, and I’ll do it again if, (they stop giving out licenses)" she said. Kulongoski said he would oppose any move by the Legislature to consider sending a measure to the voters to essentially ban gay marriage. Some lawmakers have expressed interest in taking up the topic when the Legislature conducts a June special session on tax reform. "I will not support putting discrimination into the state constitution or the federal constitution," the governor said. "That is not who we are as a people." Kulongoski said other Oregon counties wondering whether or not to follow Multnomah County’s lead should "should apply the current law as the attorney general has recommended to us." Kelly Clark, an attorney for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, which has asked courts in Multnomah County to block same-sex marriage, said that his clients "welcome the advice from the attorney general to local governments not to take matters into their own hands." Clark also said he was "not at all surprised that the attorney general thinks there might be constitutional problems with the marriage statute. We have recognized that issue from the beginning." Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? 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