Gay Marriage Licenses Issued in Oregon
Mar 3, 1:27 PM (ET)
By RUKMINI CALLIMACHI
(AP) Martha Spires, center and Brooke Gelfand, right, both of Portland, line up to apply for a marriage...
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - County officials began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples in Portland Wednesday, joining the rapidly spreading national movement that has moved from San Francisco to upstate New York.
Meanwhile, New York's attorney general said current state law prohibits same-sex weddings but that he would leave it to the courts to decide if the law is constitutional. In Washington, D.C., lawmakers debated same-sex marriages, with Republican senators such as Majority Leader Bill Frist asking Congress to embrace a constitutional amendment banning them.
"Same sex marriage is likely to spread through all 50 states in the coming years," Frist said. "It is becoming increasingly clear that Congress must act."
In Oregon, about 50 people lined up for a sudden chance to wed after a Multnomah County commissioner said she would begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
An ebullient Mary Li, a Multnomah County employee, held up the very first certificate - showing her and her partner's name under the Oregon seal.
"I can't describe how great it feels," Li said.
Every time a license was issued, people cheered. Gay bar owners handed out free glasses of champagne and many couples carried bouquets of roses.
In New York, Spitzer said in a statement obtained by The Associated Press, "I personally would like to see the law changed, but must respect the law as it now stands."
Both sides of the polarizing issue have been waiting for Spitzer's opinion since last Friday when the mayor of New Paltz, a small college town 75 miles north of Manhattan, married 25 same-sex couples without licenses. Village Mayor Jason West now faces 19 criminal counts and could face jail time.
(AP) Jeremy Rich, from Marietta, Ga., makes his point of view know during a protest against an amendment...
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On Wednesday, Nyack, N.Y. Mayor John Shields said he would also start marrying gay couples and planned to seek a license himself to marry his same-sex partner.
However, Spitzer said Wednesday that New York's law contains references to "bride and groom" and "husband and wife" and does not authorize same-sex marriage.
"The issues underlying this opinion represent matters on which people of good faith have strongly held and widely divergent views," Spitzer said.
Spitzer last week refused a request from the state health department for an injunction stopping the gay weddings. New York Gov. George Pataki has said that performing gay marriages is illegal.
West married 25 gay couples on Friday, making New Paltz another flash point in the national debate over gay marriage. More than 3,400 couples have been married in San Francisco; West now has about 1,000 couples on a waiting list.
(AP) A demonstrator against the gay marriage amendment waves a "rainbow" Georgia flag at a rally in...
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In Massachusetts, same-sex marriages have the approval of the state's highest court - but the state-sanctioned marriages will not start until May.
New York and Oregon are among 12 states without laws defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Oregon state law defines marriage as a "civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age."
Multnomah County Chair Diane Linn directed the county to begin issuing same-sex wedding licenses after consulting with the county attorney, but without an official vote from the four other county commissioners. On Wednesday, three other commissioners affirmed her decision.
Portland has long been viewed as a bastion of liberalism, but opposition from Oregon's Republican leadership was swift.
"I'm very upset that this travesty is taking place in Oregon. It definitely is an insult to the voters and to the people," said Kevin Mannix, chairman of the Oregon Republican Party, who called for the attorney general to put a halt to the marriages immediately.
Two protesters yelled at the couples across a yellow police tape as officers kept watch.
In New York, West, 26, said he was motivated by civil rights and "common decency" to join the vanguard of the growing gay marriage movement, along with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom.
West was to be in court Wednesday night to answer charges that he married 19 couples knowing they did not have marriage licenses, a violation of the state's domestic relations law. He planned to plead innocent.
"I don't plan to spend time in jail," the Green Party mayor said on NBC's "Today Show.""I think that the judge before whom this case will be heard will see that the constitution is clear on this, will see that our laws are clear on this and will see that these marriages are in fact legal."
If convicted, West could face from a $25 to $500 fine or jail time. Ulster County District Attorney Donald Williams said a jail term wasn't being contemplated at this point.
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