As you know from a previous entry, Portland, Oregon, has become one of three ground zeroes on the issue of gay marriage. As I predicted, opponents of gay marriage failed to win their argument for a temporary restraining order barring issuance of more marriage licenses to homosexuals yesterday.
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Gay marriage withstood its first court test in Oregon on Monday when a judge ruled the most populous county in the state can continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
. . .Presiding Judge Dale Koch denied a request for a temporary restraining order filed by opponents of gay marriage who argued that [Commissioner Serena] Cruz and three other commissioners circumvented the state open meetings law by changing policy without public comment.Koch told attorneys for the Defense of Marriage Coalition that they had not demonstrated their case against the four commissioners would succeed in court.
"In terms of clear and convincing evidence, I'm faced with affidavits from four county commissioners who say they have not violated state public meeting law," Koch said.
The judge also said he saw no evidence the coalition or the state would suffer "irreparable harm" if Multnomah County keeps issuing the marriage licenses.
A ruling on pretrial relief, a form of which is the TRO, is not a decision about the merits of a case. It simply means time is not of the essence. No one is going to be harmed by proceeding in a deliberate manner. The next hearing in the case will also consider the plaintiffs' requests for injunctive relief.
Another development in Portland is more troubling for those who support legalizing gay unions. Since last Wednesday, polls show the rate of opposition to gay marriage climbing from 7 to 10 percent. Before gay marriage became a fait accompli, 47 percent of Oregonians reportedly favored it. That number has declined as a sizeable proportion of those people defected to the opposition or became undecided. The Seattle Times reported the results from one poll.
Article comments
1 - Mac Diva
Update: Oregon's attorney general has now said counties can continue to marry homosexual couples. The ruling does not resolve the ultimate issue, but it is a futher bolstering of the interpretation of the statues those who favor gay marriage support.
2 - Eric Olsen
Thanks for following this, it's extremely important and interesting.
Who would have thought the process would be this far along even just a couple of years ago?
I wouldn't worry too much about the polls - that's still a lot of support. You're always going to have volatility in the middle of a revolution. What we're seeign is that if you take "equal rights" seriously, you are going to see it go some unprecedented places because eventually the courts are going to have to follow the logic where it leads.
Thanks again!