Oregon Supreme Court Upholds State Marriage Laws
By: Administrative Account | Source: CNSNews.com
April 15, 2005 6:01AM EST

By Melanie Hunter
CNSNews.com Deputy Managing Editor
April 14, 2005

(CNSNews.com) - The Oregon Supreme Court Thursday upheld the state's marriage laws and invalidated 3,000 marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples in Multnomah County last year.

On March 3, 2004, the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners began issuing the marriage licenses illegally. In Dec. 2, 2004, a voter-approved amendment, Ballot Measure 36, was adopted to the state constitution, defining marriage as "between one man and one woman."

"First, since the effective date of Measure 36, marriage in Oregon has been limited under the Oregon Constitution to opposite-sex couples. Second, Oregon statutory law in existence before the effective date of Measure 36 also limited, and continues to limit, the right to obtain marriage licenses to opposite-sex couples," the court said in its ruling.

"Third, marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples in Multnomah County before that date were issued without authority and were void at the time that they were issued, and we therefore need not consider the independent effect, if any, of Measure 36 on those marriage licenses," the court added.

The court's ruling was applauded by pro-family groups.

"We must commend the Oregon Supreme Court on their restraint and willingness to follow the law rather than making it. Last fall, Oregon voters joined 13 other states in recognizing the definition of marriage as one man and one woman," said Family Research Council President Tony Perkins.

"When the people are given a voice on this important issue, accountable judges cannot help but acknowledge the will of the people and the rule of law. The people of Oregon have clearly supported marriage as a sacred institution, and one in which same-sex couples are not able to participate," added Perkins.

"The fate of marriage should not be placed in the hands of a few judges. The Oregon voters have spoken by amending their state Constitution, and thus the courts are required to listen," said Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel.

Staver called the ruling a "tremendous victor for marriage, family and children," and he urged each state to pass constitutional amendments to their state constitutions "to preserve marriage." Staver also urged lawmakers to pass a federal constitutional amendment.

"When the courts actually follow the law, they are doing their job. Clearly, Oregon had nothing on the books that would support a claim to 'gay marriage,'" said Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's Culture & Family Institute.

"The court pointed out that the legal issue was so clear-cut that they didn't even need to reference the voters' passing a marriage amendment to the state constitution by 57 percent last November," said Knight.

"It's unfortunate that Oregon's governor is now seeking to create counterfeit marriage by another name -- civil unions -- which are just as wrong and dangerous," he added.

"The events in Oregon show that the surge in demand for 'gay marriage' does not come from the majority of the American people, but from a small movement of homosexual activists who want to validate their immoral and dangerous lifestyle by breaking down the definition of marriage," said Knight.

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