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 The ruling, which came just before a separate legal victory by gay
matrimony advocates in Utah, was the latest in a series of court
decisions in other states that if upheld will dramatically expand
same-sex couples' marriage rights across the country.
"I'm speechless. We've waited for this moment for at least 10
years," said Christine Tanner, who with her partner joined three
other Oregon couples in challenging a 2004 voter-approved state
constitutional amendment limiting marriage to heterosexual couples.
The attorney general of the left-leaning state ultimately declined
to mount a legal defense of Oregon's gay marriage ban against the
lawsuit, leaving the conservative National Organization for Marriage
to try defending it instead.
But U.S. District Judge Michael McShane denied the group legal
standing last week, and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on
Monday refused a request by the group to halt the proceedings while
it challenged the decision on standing.
A short time later, McShane struck down Oregon's ban as
unconstitutional, as expected.
"There is no legitimate state interest that would justify the denial
of the full and equal recognition, attendant rights, benefits,
protections, privileges, obligations, responsibilities and
immunities of marriage to same-gender couples," he wrote.
Within minutes of the ruling, officials in at least four Oregon
counties began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, some
of whom had already lined up outside local courthouses in
anticipation.
'FINALLY' MARRIED
The scene was festive at the Multnomah County Courthouse in
Portland, where 96 marriage licenses were handed the first day to
same-sex couples. Among them were Shawna and Emily Roach, who waited
outside with their 2-year-old daughter as passing motorists honked
car horns in support.
"Us being able to be legally married means she won't remember what
it's like for discrimination to be legal," Shawna Roach said of
their daughter.
Many of the first wave of newly licensed couples flocked to a
Portland ballroom, where six makeshift alters were set up in
anticipation of the ruling. One couple, Constance Ashbrook and
Martha Landowne, were first wed in 2004 but saw their marriage
undone by the courts after Oregon voters banned gay matrimony.
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They took turns resting their heads on each others' shoulders and
kissed while waiting for paperwork to be signed. They recited vows
with two friends looking on, and a local judge pronounced the pair
"finally" married.
Marriage rights have been extended to gay couples in 17 other states
and the District of Columbia in a trend that has gained momentum
since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last June that legally married
same-sex couples nationwide are eligible for federal benefits.
Brian Brown, a National Organization for Marriage spokesman, called
McShane's ruling outrageous and said the group would ask the U.S.
Supreme Court to stay the order pending appeal.
But Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber sounded a note of finality in
praising McShane's ruling, saying, "No longer will Oregonians
tolerate discrimination against the gay, lesbian, and transgender
community."
Hours later, another federal judge in Utah upheld the legality of
hundreds of same-sex weddings performed in that state after a gay
marriage ban was briefly lifted, only to be reinstated 17 days later
by U.S. Supreme Court pending appeal. But the same judge put his
decision on hold for 21 days.
(Reporting by Shelby Sebens and Teresa Carson in Portland, and Dan
Whitcomb in Los Angeles; Writing by Dan Whitcomb; editing by Andrew
Hay, Cynthia Osterman, Matthew Lewis and Simon Cameron-Moore)
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