We are beginning to get word that the SCOTUS has denied NOM's request to stop same-sex marriage from moving forward in Oregon.
From scotusblog:
The Supreme Court, in a one-sentence order without explanation, refused on Wednesday afternoon to stop same-sex marriages in Oregon. The denial was by the full Court, after Justice Anthony M. Kennedy had submitted the plea to it.
The request had come from a private group that is strongly opposed to same-sex marriage, the National Organization for Marriage. It had been barred from taking part in the case over the constitutionality of an Oregon ban, and it had asked the Justices to put off a judge’s decision striking down that ban.
While this is not a big surprise to many of us, it is nevertheless a bit of a relief.
NOM has issued a statement regarding the denial of their request:
We are disappointed that the US Supreme Court has declined to issue a stay of a federal judge's order redefining marriage in Oregon. Because the state Attorney General has worked in concert with the plaintiffs to deny the people of Oregon a defense of their state marriage amendment, and because the trial judge refused our request to defend the amendment, the people have at least temporarily lost their common-sense law which defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. It's important to recognize that the Supreme Court has not decided the merits of the underlying issue. NOM has filed an appeal of the trial judge's decision to prevent us from intervening in the case to defend Oregon's marriage amendment. That appeal is on track, with briefs due in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal in August and September, and oral argument sometime afterwards. We will continue to press this case because we believe that the people of Oregon are entitled to a vigorous defense of marriage, and because it is in the public interest to preserve marriage as the union of one man and one woman." - NOM chairman John Eastman, via press release.
via
JMG