March 16, 2004
State Refuses To Certify Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
May Prompt Legal Action By Civil Rights Supporters
Well, we had heard rumblings of this but not in ways that suggested it was certain. But now that it's appeared in the Statesman Journal, here it is:
Also Monday, the director of the state vital records unit said she’ll refuse to certify same-sex marriage licenses submitted by Multnomah County, because the governor and attorney general have declared the practice illegal.
That means gays and lesbians can wed, but they can’t get a certified copy of their marriage licenses if needed for court proceedings or other civil or legal matters.
David Fidanque of the ACLU of Oregon doesn't necessarily seem all that upset by this turn of events:
Despite his criticism of the state, he said the state’s position may give gay-marriage supporters the legal test case they’ve been seeking. Three lawsuits filed by opponents of gay marriage may not settle the constitutional question of whether gays and lesbians have the same rights to marriage as other couples, Fidanque said.
"This may set up the possibility of us filing a lawsuit in Multnomah County Circuit Court or the Oregon Supreme Court, seeking an order requiring the governor to recognize these marriages as valid."
Of what importance is the vital records issue, exactly? Here's how the Journal describes it:
Multnomah County must submit the marriage licenses it issues in March to the state Center for Health Statistics by April 10, said Jennifer Woodward, state registrar for vital records.
Woodward plans to store the same-sex licenses on file in a secure area, until the legal cloud over gay marriage is lifted. That means she won’t certify them, assign them a formal number or enter them into the computer.
Multnomah County may issue a copy of the licenses it has issued to gay and lesbian couples, but that’s akin to an unofficial copy of a birth certificate, Woodward said.
Presumably, any legal action against the state over the vital records issue would have to be initiated by a person or party with a reason to need access to a certified marriage certificate. According to the Center for Health Statistics: "Access to [marriage] records filed in the State Vital Records office is restricted for 50 years after the date of the event to family members and their legal representatives, persons or organizations with a personal or property right, [and] government agencies."
Comments (1)
Jason on 17 Mar 2004
This is also the case with our San Francisco marriage license. It has never been "certified" by the state of California. It's a curious place to be...license in hand, yet not quite sure if it's legal. Can we marry in Multnomah County? Probably not, due to the fact that we have a license from San Francisco. Is that marriage license valid? Possibly. Possibly not. We're waiting to see. Personally, it's all very exciting.