Oregon's High Court Negates Homosexual 'Marriage' Licenses
by Allie Martin and Jody Brown
April 14, 2005
(AgapePress) - Homosexual "marriage" may be on life support -- so says a Christian attorney in reaction to today's ruling by Oregon's highest court that invalidates thousands of marriage licenses handed out in one county last year.
Upwards of 3,000 homosexual couples who thought they were legally married were told by the Oregon Supreme Court on Thursday morning that they aren't. The high court has nullified marriage licenses that were issued to same-sex couples in Multnomah County over a six-week period beginning last April. The county had no authority to do so, said the court, explaining that while a county can question the constitutionality of law concerning marriage, the laws are a matter of statewide concern.
The court noted that the citizens of the state approved a constitutional amendment in November limiting marriage to one man and one woman -- but that even before that, state law put the same limits on marriage.
"Today, marriage in Oregon -- an institution once limited to opposite-sex couples only by statute -- now is so limited by the state Constitution as well," the court stated in its ruling. "We conclude that Oregon law currently places the regulation of marriage exclusively within the province of the state's legislative power."
That latter statement effectively leaves the door open for state legislators to draft legislation legalizing an alternative to same-sex marriages, such as civil unions.
Is Issue Breathing Its Last?
An attorney with the American Family Association in Mississippi says he is pleasantly surprised at the ruling handed down by the Oregon Supreme Court. Brian Fahling, senior trial attorney for the AFA's Center for Law & Policy, sees the decision has a major setback for advocates of same-sex marriage.
Brian Fahling
"The issue itself may be moving to a respirator. I think they're going to be on life support -- and hopefully that's true," Fahling says. "[But] I would note that [Oregon] Governor [Ted] Kulongoski, who's a Democrat, came out [the day before] and said that he would push for a law allowing homosexuals in Oregon to form civil unions where they would have essentially the same rights as married couples."
The attorney says that essentially means the issue in another form -- civil unions -- continues to press forward. "If they can't get marriage, the radical homosexual agenda is attempting to get everything just short of it," Fahling says of the governor's endorsement.
The director of Concerned Women for America's Culture and Family Institute, Robert Knight, says Governor Kulongoski's continued push for civil unions is unfortunate because they are "just as wrong and dangerous" as homosexual marriage.
"The events in Oregon show that the surge in demand for 'gay marriage' does not come from the majority of the American people," Knight says, "but from a small movement of homosexual activists who want to validate their immoral and dangerous lifestyle by breaking down the definition of marriage."
Fahling explains why marriage advocates ought to be pleased by today's announcement. "This ruling comes from a very liberal court which was expected to follow the lead of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in finding a constitutional right to same-sex marriage," he notes. "However, it appears they have been paying attention to the growing national outrage over judges who think they can prescribe new laws and a new moral code for the people of this nation."
The pro-family attorney took the opportunity to point out the importance of a marriage amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Activist judges -- such as those in Massachusetts, he says -- are a threat to traditional marriage, and can only be stopped by a federal marriage amendment.
"[Those judges] believe they know better than the rest of the nation with respect to self governance," the attorney states. "Unless we get a federal marriage amendment, I can guarantee you that at some point in the future [same-sex marriage] will be decreed to us from on high."
This is not the time for advocates of traditional marriage to relax, Fahling says. "We cannot afford to sit back on our laurels because courts have demonstrated clearly that they will do whatever it takes to advance that [radical homosexual] agenda."
Oregon was one of eleven states on November 2 to overwhelmingly approve state constitutional amendments protecting traditional marriage. A recent Gallup opinion poll found support for a similar federal amendment at an all-time high.
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