From the Oregonian, as of 10:21 AM Pacific. Oregon Attorney general Ellen Rosenblum filed a brief with the U.S District Court that's hearing a legal challenge for the voter-approved redefinition of marriage as restricted to people of opposite sexes that said she won't defend it because it is indefensible. Yet another state joins California, Nevada and Virginia in removing itself from the defense of a state constitutional amendment.
Below the great orange bridal wreath for more.
She wrote:
State Defendants will not defend the Oregon ban on same-sex marriage in this litigation. Rather, they will take the position in their summary judgment briefing that the ban cannot withstand a federal constitutional challenge under any standard of review. In the meantime, as the State Defendants are legally obligated to enforce the Oregon Constitution’s ban on same-sex marriage, they will continue to do so unless and until this Court grants the relief sought by the plaintiffs.
So the law is the law until the court decides it isn't, and the state won't waste money trying to defend it.
In other news from Oregon,
Multnomah County leaders will await a judge’s decision about whether gay marriage should be legal in Oregon before deciding whether to resume issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Multnomah County, which includes the state's largest city, Portland, had begin to issue marriage licesnces in 2004 but stopped when the amendment that's being challenged in court received voter approval. County Chair Marissa Madrigal
said if a judge sides with four Oregon couples who have filed suit seeking the right to get married in Oregon, the county would immediately resume issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Multnomah County is named in the lawsuit.
All five of the county's elected commissioners support marriage equality.
And if all that fails, the effort to get enough signatures to put repeal of the amendment on the ballot is almost complete, and Basic rights Oregon just announced in an email message to its supporters (I'm one of them) that
The Oregon United for Marriage campaign has announced today that it has gathered more than 160,000 signatures—well over the requirement and more than enough to qualify for the November ballot. The campaign has decided to hold onto the signatures, pending the outcome of a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Measure 36.
Of course, every silver lining has a cloud. The no on marriage equality people have a ballot measure ready of the freedom to discriminate bill that the Republicans in the Kansas State Senate walked away from. Just what we need!
Here's the link to the Oregon United For Marriage page if you want to donate to this worthy cause.
6:30 PM PT: Thanks for republishing this to the groups this affects!