Oregon legislature moves to make marriage statutes gender neutral

Salem, Ore. (AP) — Oregon legislators are moving to adopt gender-neutral marriage statutes in recognition of last year's ruling by a federal judge striking down the state's ban on same-sex marriage.

But House Democratic leaders acceded to the demands of the chamber's top Republican — House Minority Leader Mike McLane — to not change the statute that directly defines marriage as being between a male and a female.

McLane, of Powell Butte, said legislators should wait until the U.S. Supreme Court rules next month on whether gays and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry.

While avoiding what would be a largely symbolic debate over gay marriage, legislative leaders are instead proceeding with a measure that supporters say will help ease some legal issues that same-sex married couples continue to face in Oregon.

"There are a lot of things that people run into involving everyone from funeral directors to title officers who don't really understand the law, and they look up the statutes and it says, 'husband and wife,'" said Mark Johnson Roberts, a Portland family law attorney who frequently works with Basic Rights Oregon, the state's major gay rights group.

Roberts and Jeanna Frazzini, Basic Rights co-director, said the group has received calls from the same-sex spouses of people who have died but haven't been recognized as the next of kin by a funeral director.

Or they've faced issues with real estate transactions, they said. Sometimes, Frazzini said, same-sex couples aren't happy about having to cross out "husband and wife" in a real estate document and replace it with "spouse."

"Their rights need to be respected, and their existence needs to be recognized," said Frazzini, noting that putting gender-neutral terms in the statutes will help change the bureaucratic procedures that affect people's lives.

Barry Pack, deputy chief operating officer at the Department of Administrative Services, said references to marriage "permeate throughout the statute books." His agency originally proposed House Bill 2478, which replaces many references to "husband and wife" with "spouses in a legally recognized marriage."

No matter how the U.S. Supreme Court rules next month, it's unlikely to directly affect the year-old ruling by U.S. District Judge Michael McShane that struck down the 2004 constitutional amendment approved by voters that limited marriage to one man and one woman.

State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum agreed with gay couples who sued the state that they had a constitutional right to marry, and no one was granted the legal standing to appeal McShane's decision. The U.S. Supreme Court rejected attempts by a conservative group, the National Organization for Marriage, to intervene in the case.

As a result, many legal analysts say they expect McShane's ruling to stand no matter how the court rules. Even if gays and lesbians were no longer allowed to marry in Oregon, it would not negate the marriages that have already occurred, and supporters say the statutes should reflect this.

More than 2,100 same-sex marriages were held in Oregon in the first nine months after McShane's ruling, according to preliminary statistics from the Oregon Public Health Division. There are also many same-sex couples married in other states or countries whose unions are legally recognized in Oregon.

McLane, in a May 6 hearing on the measure, said he didn't have any problem going ahead with most of the changes, which he said "seemed to be innocuous."

But he objected to redefining marriage in the Oregon statutes at this point.

"We're voting against the constitution of the state of Oregon that we swore an oath to uphold," said McLane, asking what the rush was to do this before the Supreme Court acts.

Tim Nashif, a founder and board member of Oregon Family Council who helped organize the campaign for the 2004 ballot measure banning gay marriage, said he doesn't see any reason for the Legislature to go ahead with the bill now at all.

"Why not wait a month?" he said. "They could take a comprehensive look at it after the Supreme Court rules. ... It makes the whole thing seem very suspicious."

House Majority Leader Val Hoyle, D-Eugene and chair of the House Rules Committee, said she didn't mind accepting McLane's request to wait on the Supreme Court before amending the definition of marriage. But she said it was important to go ahead with changes that reflect "current practices" regarding married couples in Oregon.

Information from: The Oregonian, Portland, OR.

By Jeff Mapes, The Oregonian. Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

The Gayly – May 20, 2015 @ 5:10pm.