LAWSUITS TARGET OREGON SSM: From The Oregonian

A group opposed to same-sex marriages said it will file a lawsuit today in Multnomah County to stop the county from issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.

The announcement by the Oregon Defense of Marriage Coalition came Thursday as Multnomah County commissioners responded to thousands of telephone calls and e-mails regarding the licenses and debate raged round the state as other counties examined the issue. In Portland, hundreds of gay and lesbian couples took out marriage licenses Thursday, the second day same-sex marriages were allowed in Oregon, bringing the total number of licenses issued for the two days to 786.

It's unclear how many of those couples have married, though most signed waivers of the usual three-day waiting period and held their ceremonies immediately. Kelly Clark, an attorney representing the Defense of Marriage
Coalition, said he planned to file for an injunction to stop the issuance of licenses. Mathew Staver, president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, said he also planned to file a lawsuit today. Clark said his suit will seek a reversal of the county's decision to allow same-sex marriages and will ask the court to define marriage as a union "between a man and a woman."

The suit will claim that four members of the county Board of Commissioners violated open meetings laws by approving the new policy without notifying the fifth member of the board or holding public hearings. Multnomah County Chairwoman Diane Linn said the board did not violate open meetings laws. While a majority of the board supported the policy change, she said she alone gave the order to begin issuing licenses to same-sex couples.

Attorney General Hardy Myers is expected to complete his analysis of state law and the Oregon Constitution by Monday and then will decide whether to go to court to stop the county from issuing more licenses, said his spokesman, Kevin Neely.

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posted by Eve at 2:55 PM VOTE

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