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52 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, April 17, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend April 15, 2005 Local gay couples express disappointment, not surprise, at court ruling By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune The handful of Rogue Valley couples who took advantage of last year’s brief window for same-sex marriages in Multnomah County were dismayed to learn Thursday that the Oregon Supreme Court ruled they are no longer legally married. "I’m in shock — but not really, because I never had the feeling it (marriage) would be legal. But in my mind, I’m still married," said Tonja Andreatta, 36, of Medford. "You’re left with that old feeling of being a second-class citizen, but on the other hand, it’s a long road and you keep going." Her domestic partner of five years, Sarah Minshall, 33, also said she was "disappointed but not surprised," adding that the battle to the state’s high court has kept the issue in the public eye, where people learn more each time it’s in the news. "It was nice to be married, because everyone says congratulations, that’s wonderful, but it also didn’t really change our lives," said Minshall. "We lived as we did before. We just don’t know what anniversary to celebrate now." The decision harkens to laws and traditions of Oregon’s past, rather than addressing present questions of equality, said Peter Thomas, 49, of Ashland, who was married in San Francisco last year to his male partner of 18 years. Advertisement "The gay-lesbian community today is concerned about this country’s extremism and there’s a slight shade of fear," said Thomas, who is development director at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. "I’m thinking that what happened in Ohio last election could happen here, that a vocal, organized minority could pass an initiative not only to ban civil unions, but to dismantle existing rights, such as domestic partner benefits." A bill recently introduced in the Legislature to allow civil unions for same-sex partners will prompt more conversations about the matter of equal protection under law as guaranteed under the Constitution, said Jeffrey Foust, Southern Oregon field organizer for Basic Rights Oregon. The last two evenings at Southern Oregon University, he organized rallies in support of same-sex marriage. Minshall expressed appreciation for the bill, supported by Gov. Ted Kulongoski and co-sponsored by Sen. Alan Bates, D- Ashland, to legitimize same-sex unions, a step short of legal marriage. But, Minshall said, "I don’t hold out too much hope for it, frankly, because I don’t want to get disappointed again." She added, "I would prefer marriage status, of course, but unions are the next-best thing." George Miller-Zauner of Central Point, who this week celebrates 15 years with his partner, rejected that view, criticizing Basic Rights Oregon and anyone else who "settles for anything less than equal. It’s discrimination and we are very, very, very upset about it." The number of Southern Oregon same-sex couples marrying in Portland was low last year, Minshall noted, because "they figured it wouldn’t be legal and they felt already married in their hearts. They didn’t want to get into the politicalness of it." Miller-Zauner said he and his partner chose not to get the Multnomah County marriage license because "we knew that unless it was gospel (state law), it would be taken away. Now those licenses are nothing but pieces of toilet paper, and can you imagine how those 3,000 people feel who believed in them?" Andreatta said she "would love it" if civil unions passed. "Sure, I’m hopeful, but my life goes on. The things I want are the same things other people want. I don’t want to live my life based on my sexuality. I wash my dishes the same way everyone else does and I don’t want to be viewed in terms of my sexuality." The situations of equality of same-sex couples in marriage "has to get worse before it gets better," Andreatta said. "Meanwhile, I told Sarah this morning, ‘You are still my partner.’ " John Darling is a free-lance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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