ORE. COUNTY HOLDS HEARING ON SSM: From 365Gay.com

Multnomah County, under pressure from residents opposed to same-sex marriage, held its first public hearings on the issue today.

More than 50 people testified before the commissioners. Much of the opposition focused on moral grounds, and several people objected to the commission reaching agreement to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples without public consultation.

One person told commissioners that they had acted "covertly" to avoid taxpayer scrutiny. But, Portland's business community said it supported the measure. "There's no question that this has had a positive impact (economically)," Joe D'Alessandro, the head of the Portland Oregon Visitors Association told the gathering. "We have seen a definite uptick" in hotels, restaurants and retail spending, he said.

D'Alessandro said that marketing studies had shown that gays and lesbians have above average incomes and spend hundreds of millions of dollars each year. D'Alessandro said POVA has received tons of calls and emails inquiring about Portland since the decision to issue gay marriage licenses was made. He indicated those inquiries were running about 8 to 1 in support of Multnomah County's decision.

Jeri Riggs, the general manager of Portland's Hotel Vintage Plaza agreed that gay marriage has been good for business. She said the gay market is a very affluent one, looking for gay friendly destinations and Portland has become one in recent weeks.

Multnomah County has been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since March 3. The ACLU filed a lawsuit Wednesday that is expected to send the legal dispute over gay marriage on a fast track to the Oregon Supreme Court.

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posted by Eve at 4:51 PM | link

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