One Man One Woman--Oregon High Court Gets It Right

Here's how The Oregonian reported last Thursday:

Oregon Supreme Court nullifies gay marriages
Thursday, April 14, 2005
ASHBEL S. GREEN

The Oregon Supreme Court today dismissed a lawsuit seeking to obtain equal benefits for same-sex couples and voided marriage certificates obtained by 3,000 gay and lesbian couples in Multnomah County last year.

The ruling was a victory for social conservatives who backed Measure 36, the 2004 initiative that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman.

It also reduces pressure on the 2005 Legislature to address civil unions legislation.

Gay rights advocates, who were riding high just a year ago, must now start over with a new lawsuit. And although the prospects are still good that the courts will say the Oregon Constitution requires the state to give same-sex couples the same rights as married couples, such a victory likely is several years away.

For those same-sex couples who obtained marriage certificates in Multnomah County last year, the documents are legally meaningless, an historical oddity somewhat like the famous newspaper headline that incorrectly declared: "Dewey defeats Truman."

Basic Rights Oregon, a leading gay-rights organization, lamented the outcome of the ruling.

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Yesterday, here is how The Oregonian read:

Court annuls gay marriages
Friday, April 15, 2005
ASHBEL S. GREEN and MICHELLE COLE

The Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday voided the marriages of 3,000 same-sex couples and left the issue of civil unions to an uncertain fate in the 2005 Legislature.

A unanimous court ruled that Multnomah County had no authority to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in March 2004. County Chairwoman Diane Linn made the decision after concluding that state marriage law violated the Oregon Constitution's guarantee of equal treatment.

"County officials were entitled to have their doubts about the constitutionality of limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples. But, marriage and the laws governing it are matters of statewide, not local, concern," Justice Michael Gillette wrote for the court.

Gay-rights advocates also were asking the court to say that the Oregon Constitution required the state to provide same-sex couples with the benefits of marriage through a civil unions system.

But the court declined to address the broad constitutional issue, dismissing the suit on narrow procedural grounds.

"The issue of the availability of marriage benefits to same-sex couples is not properly before us," the court wrote.

The court's ruling allows gay-rights advocates to file another lawsuit. But at least as long as the Legislature is in session, the ruling shifted the focus from the legal playing field to the political one.

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