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Second county in oregon ok gay marriages { March 17 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001880859_gaymarriage17m0.htmlhttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001880859_gaymarriage17m0.html
Wednesday, March 17, 2004, 12:00 A.M. Pacific
Second county in Oregon OKs gay marriages
By Lornet Turnbull
Seattle Times staff reporter
A second Oregon county yesterday said it will issue marriage licenses to gay couples — as the Northwest state continues to be the only one in the country where the licenses can be obtained.
Benton County, where Oregon State University is located in Corvallis, will join Multnomah County in granting licenses to same-sex couples, even as the legality of gay marriage is being challenged.
The county, about an hour and a half's drive from Portland, will begin issuing licenses at 9 a.m. next Wednesday.
After three hours of emotional public testimony, Benton County commissioners voted 2-1 to approve gay marriage. They acted against the advice of their attorney, in contrast to their counterparts in Multnomah County, who relied heavily on the advice of their counsel.
Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell said the decision was based in part on a nonbinding opinion last week from Oregon Attorney General Hardy Myers, which was echoed by a statement from Gov. Ted Kulongoski. Both cited state law prohibiting same-sex marriages but conceded the law is probably unconstitutional.
"If the attorney general believes it is likely to be deemed unconstitutional, and if the other opinions out there believe the law is likely to be unconstitutional, it is just as unconstitutional today as it will be next week, next month and next year," Modrell told The Associated Press.
Lou Beres, chairman of the Christian Coalition of Oregon, said his organization is preparing a petition to recall the Multnomah County Commissioners' chairwoman. He said the group also could seek a recall in Benton County if commissioners there begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
"The governor and the attorney general both have said they're breaking the law by doing this," Beres said. "But you have rogue elected officials deciding to take the law into their own hands."
Rebekah Kassell, communications coordinator for Basic Rights Oregon, said other Oregon counties are considering following Multnomah and Benton counties' lead.
As of yesterday, Multnomah County had issued 2,410 licenses to same-sex couples — mostly from Oregon and Washington.
Last week the California Supreme Court halted gay marriages in San Francisco.
On March 8, six Seattle-area gay couples who'd been denied marriage licenses sued King County on grounds that the state law being enforced here is unconstitutional.
Lisa Stone, executive director of Northwest Women's Law Center, which along with Lambda Legal sued on the couples' behalf, said the Benton County action "reinforces that something needs to be done — and sooner rather than later."
"We support counties that want to step out in front and take a stand on this," Stone said, adding that the issue eventually will be decided by the Supreme Court.
Lornet Turnbull: 206-464-2420 or lturnbull@seattletimes.com
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