Oregon May Be Next State For Gay Marriage Ballot Battle | HuffPost Relign

PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — A feral judge on Monday stck down a voter-approved ban on gay marriage the northwtern state of Oregon, sayg is unnstutnal, markg the 13th nsecutive legal victory for gay marriage advot sce last year's U.S. Supreme Court lg that overturned part of a feral ban. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane joed judg seven other stat who have stck down gay marriage bans this year, though appeals are unrway and the issue is expected to settled by the U.S. Supreme Court. He said the ban unnstutnally discrimat agast same-sex upl and orred Oregon not to enforce . State officials earlier refed to fend the nstutnal ban urt. Jubilant upl shed to tie the knot followg Monday's lg, cludg some who stood le at the Portland unty buildg for hours to get a marriage license. The U.S. Supreme Court last year stck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which barred the feral ernment om regnizg same-sex marriage. The urt termed the law improperly prived gay upl of due procs. Many observers predicted the lg would create a pathway for stat to act, as polls showed a majory of Amerins now support gay marriage. Ined, lower-urt judg have repeatedly ced that cisn when strikg down bans. In addn to Oregon, feral or state judg Idaho, Oklahoma, Virgia, Michigan, Texas, Utah and Arkansas recently have found state same-sex marriage bans to be unnstutnal. Judg also have orred Kentucky, Oh and Tennsee to regnize same-sex marriag om other stat. At least 17 other stat have filed lawsus askg judg to throw out state bans. The two most recent stat to make the unns legal were New Mexi and Hawaii, both of which did so late 2013. Oregon's lg is not expected to be challenged, which would make the 18th state where gay marriage is legal. Opposn remas stiff many plac. Crics note most stat still do not allow gay marriage and that most of those that do, was the work of urts or legislatur, not the will of the people. In Oregon, state officials have said they'd be prepared to rry out same-sex marriag almost immediately, and upl led up outsi the unty clerk's office Portland anticipatn of the McShane's cisn. Four gay and lbian upl brought the Oregon s, argug the state's marriage laws unnstutnally discrimate agast them and exclu them om a fundamental right to marriage. Democratic Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum refed to fend the ban, sayg there are no legal arguments that uld support light of cisns last year by the U.S. Supreme Court. She sid wh the upl, askg the judge to overturn the ban, and says she won't appeal. The judge nied a requt by the Natnal Organizatn for Marriage to fend the law on behalf of s Oregon members. A panel of the 9th U.S. Circu Court of Appeals on Monday refed the group's requt for an emergency stay of that cisn, allowg same-sex marriag to proceed. Gay rights groups prevly said they've llected enough signatur to force a statewi vote on gay marriage November. But they said they would disrd the signatur and drop their mpaign if the urt l their favor by May 23. Oregon law has long prohibed same-sex marriage, and voters add the ban to the state nstutn 2004. The cisn, approved by 57 percent of voters, me months after Multnomah County, the state's largt, briefly issued marriage licens to same-sex upl. About 3,000 gay upl were allowed to marry before a judge halted the practice. The Oregon Supreme Court later validated the marriag. A lg om a feral appeals urt is expected soon, eher om a panel Denver reviewg lgs om Utah and Oklahoma or judg Virgia reviewg that state's se. Many legal observers say they expect the U.S. Supreme Court to take a se at some pot, but they acknowledge 's impossible to predict what the high urt will do. The Supreme Court uld also jt wa and see how U.S. appellate urts le. It often was until there is a nflict between appellate urts before takg a se.