Oregon Judge rules gay marriage ban is unconstitutional
Homosexual couples in Oregon were immediately permitted access to marriage licenses in the state after a judge ruled that the gay marriage ban was unconstitutional.
U.S. District Judge Michael McShane ruled that gay couples were unfairly discriminated against.The case was brought on by four gay couples reports the Associated Press.
“It’s the final step to be truly a family,” said Patty Reagan, who waited in line in Portland to get a marriage license with partner Kelly. “Everyone else takes for granted that they have this right,.” she said in the AP story.
McShane joins judges in seven other states who have overturned same-sex marriage bans, though appeals are underway
The National Organization for Marriage, decribed as an “anti-gay marriage group” by Oregon Live, was denied a stay request. John Eastman, NOM’s chairman, admits that could be an uphill battle but he said: “We’re not without arguments.”
Oregon Live then quoted a law professor who stated the “train has left the station” and an ACLU head who predicted that the newly issued marriage licenses “will remain legally secure.”
The ban had originally been added to the state constitution by voters in 2004.
Gay and lesbian couples can legally marry in 17 states and the District of Columbia. The two most recent states to make the unions legal were New Mexico and Hawaii, both of which did so in late 2013. Oregon’s ruling is not expected to be challenged, which would make it the 18th state where gay marriage is legal.
In 11 states, federal or state judges recently have overturned same-sex marriage bans or ordered states to recognize out-of-state marriages. Appeals courts are reviewing those decisions. Ten are in the hands of federal appeals courts, and one is with a state appeals court.
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You can’t argue with the US Constitution; it’s doing what it is supposed to do: protecting the rights of Americans by not allowing them to be excluded from the basic right to marry the person whom they choose.