ORE. SUIT SHIFTS TO BENEFITS: From The Oregonian

Gay rights leaders on Thursday asked the Oregon Supreme Court to order civil unions for same-sex couples and to uphold the legality of 3,000 marriage licenses issued to gay and lesbian couples earlier this year in Multnomah County.

While conceding that passage of Ballot Measure 36 this month bans future same-sex marriages in Oregon, gay-rights advocates said they still might challenge the constitutionality of the initiative in a separate lawsuit at a later date. ...

Kelly Clark, attorney for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, sponsor of Measure 36, said the passage of the measure eliminated any doubt about the validity of state laws that define marriage as being between a man and a woman.

Clark also questioned how gay-rights advocates can change tactics and push civil unions after arguing against them in earlier legal briefs.

"You can't change your request two-thirds of a way through a lawsuit," Clark said.

Gay-rights advocates say they were seeking the right to marry as well as the legal benefits of marriage. Measure 36's passage eliminated their constitutional right to marry, but not their rights to the benefits of marriage.

The Oregon attorney general's office has identified 279 state laws that relate to marriage. Most define benefits and rights in areas such as Social Security, taxes, inheritance, public assistance, immigration and housing -- benefits that generally become important in times of illness, crisis, divorce and death. ...

In their legal briefs, attorneys for Basic Rights Oregon and the American Civil Liberties Union ask the Oregon Supreme Court to order the Legislature to pass a law giving gay and lesbian couples the same state benefits, obligations, rights, responsibilities and protections that married couples and their children receive.

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