06:39 PM PDT on Wednesday, July 28, 2004

By ABE ESTIMADA, kgw.com Staff

SALEM – An appellate court won’t review an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit that would determine whether the state constitution permits same sex-marriage in Oregon.

KGW Mary Li and Rebecca Kennedy were the first gay couple to exchange vows in Oregon. They did so before a judge at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Portland last spring.

The Oregon Supreme Court agreed this week to review the ACLU’s case, bypassing the court of appeals, said the Oregon Attorney General’s office on Wednesday.

“That doesn’t happen very often,” said Kevin Neely, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, of the Supreme Court’s decision.

With the decision, the question of whether same-sex couples can marry in Oregon edges ever closer to legal resolution. The ACLU filed the suit in March on behalf of same-sex couples in Multnomah County.

Multnomah County commissioners approved granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples in the spring, triggering an array of lawsuits from supporters and opponents. The ACLU filed its suit in an effort to consolidate all arguments for and against gay marriage, with the hope of a quick decision by the Supreme Court.

By bypassing the appellate court, the case may be resolved within months rather than years, Neely said. The state attorney general's office has argued that the Oregon Constitution doesn't allow for gay weddings but said the Constitution itself may violate the civil rights of same-sex couples.

“(Tuesday’s) action by the Oregon Supreme Court granting certification in the same-sex marriage case is a critical step forward in resolving the important issues raised by the pending lawsuit,” said state attorney general Hardy Myers.

“Since March, when Multnomah County began issuing same-sex marriage licenses, the state has been committed to an expeditious review by Oregon’s highest court. I am pleased the court has acknowledged the urgency of resolving these difficult legal questions.”

However, oral arguments before the Supreme Court won’t begin until November or December, Neely said. The state is considering petitioning the Supreme Court for a special hearing in December, when the justices are normally in recess. The goal is for the Supreme Court to reach a decision shortly after the Oregon Legislature meets in special session in 2005, Neely said.

But potentially complicating the Supreme Court’s work is an impending, Nov. 2 vote on a ballot measure that would define marriage as between a man and woman. Same-sex marriage opponents turned in a record number of signatures to qualify the measure for the general election.

If voters approve the measure, it “is a very real question, and one that we’ll have to address at the request of the (Supreme) Court sometime after Nov. 2,” Neely said.

Neely noted, however, that the ballot measure before Oregon voters only addresses the institution of marriage – whether gay and lesbian couples can simply exchange vows.

It doesn’t appear to address the issue of whether gay and lesbian couples are entitled to the rights and privileges of marriage. That’s an open question that perhaps only the Supreme Court can resolve, Neely said.