STAY DENIED ON OREGON SSM: From the Associated Press

Oregon may become the second state in the nation to recognize gay marriage, after the Oregon Court of Appeals on Friday refused to order a hold on registering 3,022 licenses issued in Multnomah County to same-sex couples. ...

But the Oregon recognition could be short-lived. A spokesman for Attorney General Hardy Myers said the state might try to avert it by quickly appealing the appeals court decision to the state Supreme Court.

State registration of the licenses would presumably entitle gay couples to the same state benefits accorded to heterosexual married couples, like health care benefits and the right to sure on behalf of a spouse.

Gay marriage has been a hot topic in Oregon since last spring, when Multnomah County commissioners began issuing the licenses to gay couples. Eventually, more than 3,000 couples got licenses before a Multnomah County judge in April put a stop to the practice, in order to allow a lawsuit challenging their constitutionality head toward the state Supreme Court.

But in the same ruling, Circuit Judge Frank Bearden did direct the state to officially register the licenses from ceremonies already performed. It was that decision that the Court of Appeals upheld Friday. ...

David Fidanque, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the practical impact of the appeals court action is an open question.

"We won't know for a long time exactly how significant the registration of the licenses is," Fidanque said. "The state argued it is a critical step in legal recognition of the marriages. We don't know whether the appeals court agreed with that."

The appeals court issued just a brief announcement without an opinion.

Gay marriage foes say the state's founders never intended to sanction such marriages, citing a law dating to territorial days defining marriage as a contract "entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age."

They've mounted what appears to be a successful initiative petition drive to put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot outlawing gay marriage.

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posted by Eve at 1:43 AM | link

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