05:51 PM PST on Friday, March 19, 2004

By kgw.com and AP Staff

Supporters and opponents of Oregon’s gay marriages brokered a deal to send the issue of same-sex weddings before the Oregon Supreme Court as quickly as possible.

Ore. governor Ted Kulongoski. (KGW Photo)

The central question confronting the Supreme Court will be whether the Oregon Constitution permits same-sex marriages in the state. Expediting Oregon's most controversial issue to the state's high court will be a new lawsuit that will be filed by the American Civil Liberties Union next Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court in Portland.

“Everyone connected with these cases agrees it is essential to have the courts determine the constitutionality of Oregon’s marriage law,” said Oregon ACLU executive director Dave Fidanque.

Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski announced the deal on Friday. The governor said the agreement came after he met with state Attorney General Hardy Myers earlier this week to review the legal challenges to Multnomah County's decision to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

"We need uniformity and certainty of the law in Oregon," Kulongoski said in a prepared statement.

The deal allows the litigants – the Defense of Marriage Coalition, Multnomah County and the ACLU – to set aside their array of suits and motions and focus their efforts instead on speeding the case to the high court.

The Defense of Marriage Coalition, which has filed suits to stop Multnomah County from issuing marriage licenses, will drop their pending cases and intervene in the ACLU's lawsuit.

The ACLU’s lawsuit will address whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. Multnomah County Chairwoman Diane Linn said the county will work with Myers to expedite hearings on the ACLU’s suit.

Kevin Neely, spokesman for Myers, said all legal briefs in the case must be submitted to Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Frank Bearden by April 14.

Fidanque said he hopes Bearden will hear the constitutional arguments on same-sex marriages on April 16 and that a ruling will be issued before the end of the month. That sets the stage for an immediate appeal to the Oregon Court of Appeals.

The appellate court can then decide to rule on same-sex marriages or bump it to the Oregon Supreme Court, Fidanque said.

“Regardless of what happens, this is still the quickest way to get it to the Oregon Supreme Court and see that the constitutional issue gets decided,” he said.

Benton County on Tuesday decided to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples, starting at 9 a.m. Wednesday. Other counties have decided to await any Oregon Supreme Court ruling, following Myers' advice, which he outlined in a March 12 legal opinion that said gay marriage violates current state law.

Multnomah County has been issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples since March 4.

The governor noted that "having some counties that are in compliance with the law and others that are choosing to disregard the law is an untenable situation for our state."

But Neely warned there was no way to predict how fast the case will reach the Oregon Supreme Court.

"It's almost impossible to speculate," Neely said.

"But certainly we believe and most Oregonians believe that getting the issue before the Supreme Court is in the best interest of the state and we believe today's agreement is an important step in the right direction," Neely said.

Kulongoski has urged that Oregonians allow the courts to settle the issue but the chief opponent to same-sex unions, the Defense of Marriage Coalition, has already filed an initiative for a statewide ballot measure to approve a state constitutional amendment that would limit marriage to a man and a woman.

In his statement Friday, the governor emphasized the state must treat all citizens fairly.

"I believe that Oregonians have an interest in encouraging long-term, stable relationships between committed couples," Kulongoski said. "Those gay and lesbian couples should have all of the state-sanctioned rights and responsibilities that extend to heterosexual couples."

He added he would lead a fight in the next legislative session for an anti-discrimination statute and that he is opposed to a constitutional amendment.