blargblog
An expulsive extension of
Oregon Attorney General Hardy Meyers has finally emerged from hiding to send a mixed message on gay marriage. Under Oregon law, licensing same-sex marriages is illegal; but under the Oregon Constitution, banning same-sex marriage—or really, denying same-sex couples the rights, benefits, etc. accorded opposite-sex couples—violates constitutional standards of equal treatment. Ouch. Ya gotta feel for the guy.
But Gov. Ted? Governor Ted Kulongoski recommends Multnomah County follow state law under this interpretation:
"The law must be uniform throughout the state," he said. "Until the Supreme Court rules we should abide by the laws of the state of Oregon. I think (Multnomah County) should follow the state law."I heard him on the radio admit, with a laugh, that he couldn't do anything to force Multnomah County to halt the licensing process. "I already looked into it," he said. Thanks, Ted. Yer a peach. Posted by kevinmoore at March 12, 2004 01:16 PM | TrackBack
What's inside Pandora's box?
Subject: City Hall - San Francisco
"Next."
"Good morning. We want to apply for a marriage license."
"Names?"
"Tim and Jim Jones."
"Jones? Are you related? I see a resemblance."
"Yes, we're brothers."
"Brothers? You can't get married."
"Why not? Aren't you giving marriage licenses to same gender couples?"
"Yes, thousands. But we haven't had any siblings. That's incest!"
"Incest?" No, we are not gay."
"Not gay? Then why do you want to get married?"
"For the financial benefits, of course. And we do love each other.Besides, we don't have any other prospects."
"But we're issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples who've been denied equal protection under the law. If you are not gay, you can get married to a woman."
"Wait a minute. A gay man has the same right to marry a woman as I have. But just because I'm straight doesn't mean I want to marry a woman. I want marry Jim."
"And I want to marry Tim, Are you going to discriminate against us just because we are not gay?"
"All right, all right. I'll give you your license. Next."
"Hi. We are here to get married."
"Names?"
"John Smith, Jane James, Robert Green, and June Johnson."
"Who wants to marry whom?"
"We all want to marry each other."
"But there are four of you!"
"That's right. You see, we're all bisexual. I love Jane and Robert, Jane loves me and June, June loves Robert and Jane, and Robert loves June and me. All of us getting married together is the only way that we can express our sexual preferences in a marital relationship."
"But we've only been granting licenses to gay and lesbian couples."
"So you're discriminating against bisexuals!"
"No, it's just that, well, the traditional idea of marriage is that it's just for couples."
"Since when are you standing on tradition?"
"Well, I mean, you have to draw the line somewhere."
"Who says? There's no logical reason to limit marriage to couples. The more the better. Besides, we demand our rights! The mayor says the
constitution guarantees equal protection under the law. Give us a marriage license!"
"All right, all right. I quit. You people are making a mockery of marriage! "
If people of the opposite sex are allowed to marry, then people of the same sex will want to marry, then people of the same family will want to marry, then people of different species will want to marry, then people of different water and mineral ratios will want to marry—so let's prevent marriage altogether. We have to draw the line somewhere.
Posted by: Kevin Moore at March 14, 2004 04:16 PM