Oregon county bans all marriages - period By Teresa CarsonPORTLAND, Oregon, March 23 (Reuters) - In a new twist in the battle over same-sex marriage roiling the United States, a county in Oregon has banned all marriages -- gay and heterosexual -- until the state decides who can and who cannot wed.
The last marriage licenses were handed out in Benton County at 4 p.m. local time (7:00 p.m. EST) on Tuesday. As of Wednesday, officials in the county of 79,000 people will begin telling couples applying for licenses to go elsewhere until the gay marriage debate is settled.
"It may seem odd," Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell told Reuters in a telephone interview, but "we need to treat everyone in our county equally."State Attorney General Hardy Myers said in a statement that he was "very pleased" with Benton County's decision. "It is my sincere hope that legal process will provide clarity for each of Oregon's counties."
...Benton County, whose county seat is Corvallis, is home to Oregon State University and is seen as a bastion of liberalism.
You cannot be serious.
OK, clarification for whatever clueless ACLUnik came up with this idea: Men and Women CAN get married. I'm pretty sure that that part of the marriage law has not been changed, whatever else you think of gay marriage. (I suppose that this is only slightly less dumb than trying to suspend the law of gravity...but not by much.) What is this? "If you can't convince them, piss them off for no reason?"
It is doing batshit-insane things like this that is going to cost gay marriage supporters the debate. You guys ever hear the term "Pyrrhic Victory?" You just alienated 75% of the straight soon-to-be-newlyweds in the county.
Posted by Thief at March 24, 2004 11:42 AM