The Oregonian reports today, Gay marriage: Judge rejects attempt to intervene; ruling to overturn Oregon ban may follow:
U.S. District Judge Michael McShane on Wednesday rejected an attempt by an anti-gay marriage group to intervene in the lawsuit seeking to overturn Oregon’s ban on same-sex marriage.
McShane’s ruling raised expectations by gay marriage supporters that his next step will be to overturn the 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment limiting marriage to one man and one woman.
The judge’s decision to reject an attempt by the National Organization for Marriage to intervene leaves all of the official parties in the case — including Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum — arguing that Oregon’s prohibition violates the federal equal protection of rights of gay and lesbian couples seeking to marry.
“We feel very confident this is headed in the right direction,” said David Fidanque, executive director of the Oregon chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, which is representing some of the plaintiffs in the case. He noted that 13 federal judges in a row — including one in Idaho on Tuesday — have now issued rulings granting additional legal status for gay marriages.
John Eastman, an attorney and chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, said his group will appeal the judge’s order to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and attempt to win a stay halting McShane from taking further action in the meantime.
McShane didn’t provide any indication of when he might rule on Oregon’s marriage law.
Officials from Oregon United for Marriage, which has collected signatures for a ballot measure that would overturn Oregon’s ban, have previously said they would drop their initiative if the judge ruled by May 23.
After Wednesday’s hearing, officials backed off that date and said they may wait as late as July 3 — the deadline for submitting signatures to qualify for the November ballot — before deciding whether to go ahead with their measure.
In Idaho, county clerks and gay couples are preparing for Friday morning marriages, while state lawyers file additional challenges to same-sex ruling. Gay couples, county clerks prepare for Friday marriages in Idaho:
Idaho’s county clerks are preparing for a rush of same-sex marriages starting at 9 a.m. Friday, when U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy W. Dale’s ruling overturning the state’s ban goes into effect – unless state attorneys can get a court to halt the unions until all appeals are resolved.
Dale rejected Gov. Butch Otter’s requests for an emergency hearing and a stay, saying that Otter “is not likely to succeed” and that the state’s continued enforcement of its laws against same-sex marriage “irreparably harms” gay couples.
Both Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden on Wednesday asked the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for an emergency stay while they fight the lower court’s ruling – to the U.S. Supreme Court, if necessary.
Otter said he wants to avoid Utah’s scenario: A federal judge struck down its marriage ban in December and didn’t issue a stay. More than 1,300 same-sex couples got married there before the U.S. Supreme Court halted the marriages in early January pending appeal – leaving those marriages in legal limbo.
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Idaho’s county clerks will get a crash course Thursday on how to comply with Judge Dale’s ruling via an online training session, said Idaho Association of Counties Executive Director Dan Chadwick.
“If there is no stay, then we are going to provide tools for the clerks to implement the court’s ruling,” said Chadwick. “We want to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
One of the issues clerks and their staffs will have to address: application forms that have to be changed. “Right now, Idaho’s forms all say ‘bride’ and ‘groom’ ” Chadwick said.
Rich has already found a solution: He’s having the automated form changed to include a new section reading “spouse” and “spouse.”
Chadwick also plans to remind Idaho’s 44 elected county clerks about the requirements of their office.
“We are … going to give everybody an update on what the law says and talk about their legal obligations as county elected officials versus their personal opinion,” he said.
He said he is not aware of any county clerk who intends to defy the judge’s ruling and refuse to grant the licenses.
“Some have asked what would happen if they don’t comply. I told them, ‘The court’s injunction will be the law of the state. You took an oath to uphold the laws. That is your legal and ethical obligation because you were elected as a clerk. What you do personally is entirely up to you,’ ” he said.
State law says county employees who fail to follow marriage licensing laws could be guilty of a misdemeanor. In general, misdemeanors in Idaho are punishable by up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
“There is a potential penalty for failure to comply with the law,” Chadwick said.
UPDATE: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a temporary stay order. NEW: 9th Circuit Court temporarily halts Idaho same-sex marriages:
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has granted Idaho Gov. Butch Otter’s request for a temporary stay while it considers the state’s request for a longer stay pending appeal of the lower court’s ruling overturning Idaho same-sex marriage ban.
“The district court’s May 13, 2014 order is temporarily stayed pending this court’s disposition of appellants’ emergency motions for a stay pending appeal,” declared the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in an order released shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday.
The temporary stay will remain in effect until the 9th Circuit Court decides whether to issue a full stay pending appeal.
The 9th Circuit Court gave no indication how long it would take it to consider the motion for a stay pending appeal, according to the Idaho Attorney General’s Office, which has begun notifying counties that no same-sex marriage licenses can be issued until the court decides whether to extend the stay.
In Arkansas, the court has not entered a stay order. In fact, the plaintiffs whose lawsuit resulted in Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza ruling Arkansas’ ban on gay marriage unconstitutional have asked him to clarify the order to show it pertains to all laws that prevent same-sex unions. Gay-marriage plaintiffs seek broader ruling:
The motion from attorneys Cheryl K. Maples and Jack Wagoner said it was evident Piazza’s order was intended to be applied to all Arkansas laws that prevent same-sex couples from marrying.
But the attorneys said that because the high court noted the law that wasn’t mentioned in the original ruling, Piazza should clarify his order to show he ruled unconstitutional the 2004 constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman as well as “all other Arkansas laws that prevent same-sex couples from marrying or from having their lawful marriages recognized.”
A clerk for Piazza said Thursday she didn’t know when Piazza might issue a response.
Hundreds of couples have been married in Arkansas since the ruling last Friday.
UPDATE: Pulaski County Circuit Judge Chris Piazza has ruled on the Plaintiffs’ motion for clarification, and declared unconstitutional a law that the state Supreme Court said Wednesday still prevented county clerks from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Judge broadens gay-marriage ruling in new order:
In a ruling issued Thursday afternoon, Piazza invalidated the law omitted from his earlier ruling, the 2004 constitutional amendment that defined marriage as being between a man and a woman and “all other state and local laws and regulations identified in plaintiff’s complaint or otherwise in existence to the extent they do not recognize same-sex marriages ….”
He also denied a state request that he stay his order pending appeal and said it was a final judgment. The state Supreme Court on Wednesday dismissed a state appeal of the first ruling because it was not final.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel’s office again filed a petition for an emergency stay of Piazza’s ruling with the state Supreme Court soon after the new order was handed down Thursday.
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