Barely Legal: Why Oregon’s Gay Marriage Ruling Still Faces Threats

Oregon ruled in favor of marriage equality this week.
Image: Freedom to Marry

Earlier this week, Oregon’s LGBT community and its allies cheered when U.S. District Judge Michael McShane ruled in favor of marriage equality. The ruling, as some legal experts have pointed out, was constructed in such a way as to prevent the highly unlikely but still possible potential reverse ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court. Also, as Jeff Mapes of The Oregonian notes, “Unlike in several other states where federal judges have made similar rulings, no one has the legal standing to appeal the ruling [in Oregon].”

While the pro-marriage equality ruling in Oregon has not faced any legal appeals or stays, it has been challenged by various anti-gay groups such as the National Organization for Marriage (NOM). According to Mapes, “The 9^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday turned down NOM’s request for an emergency stay to prevent McShane from issuing his ruling. However, the group now has an Aug. 25 deadline to submit a brief arguing why it should still be allowed to intervene in the case.”

Despite the fervent attempts made by conservative politicians and anti-gay groups such as NOM, many legal experts believe that the road to universal marriage equality is inevitable. Gwynne Skinner, a professor of law at Willamette University says “I think the train has left the station,” of the major momentum the gay rights movement is experiencing right now. “I just can’t see a huge step back,” she says. David Fidanque, the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) chapter in Oregon agrees, musing, “It feels to me like we have reached a tipping point in this nation.” He also asserts how “We’re at most two years away from a resolution of this issue nationally,” an optimistic outlook on an issue still greatly fraught with controversy due to conservative backlash.

Despite threats from NOM in Oregon, many are equally optimistic that the freedom to marry in that state is here to stay. And with nearly 70 marriage equality cases working their way through the court systems right now, it does seem inevitable that there will be more states legalizing same-sex marriage in the near future.