Measure 36: discrimination

[nosmokes]

original
September 26, 2004

Measure 36: discrimination
Anti-gay marriage language doesn’t belong in the Oregon Constitution
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We think most of the push to pass Measure 36 is about religion — about a fear of open gay unions and a worry that the concept of marriage will be damaged if the government begins issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.

The Defense of Marriage Coalition, the Oregon group promoting the measure, calls Measure 36 "our last chance to preserve marriage," as though gay unions will somehow affect the thousands of heterosexual unions that take place in Oregon every year.
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What if instead we let the Constitution be? It would put the question back in the hands of the courts, which might be inclined to follow the lead of a Washington judge who last month struck down a law similar to Measure 36.King County Superior Court Judge William Downingsaid it would be arbitrary for government — which doesn’t have religious ties, which doesn’t judge "sin" — to deny marriage licenses to people just because they’re gay.
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When it was penned in 1859, Oregon’s Constitution prohibited black people from living in this state, language that remained for 70 years, until its ugliness became clear.

Let’s not go down that road again.
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complete article at original
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[sui generis]

1. Amen to that

The "family values" people would also ban Jews and Wicca and atheists from marriage if they could get away with it, you can be damn sure.

They love to hate.

[Name removed]

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