4 j U S t O U t • may 7.2004
E R o a d w a y E R o a d w a y E R o a d w a y R
oadw ay
BOflDWflY
& KKons.
TFmrramnews
L aw and D isorder
Just Out talks to Kelly Clark, attorney
(or the Defense of Marriage Coalition by Floyd Sklaver
PHOTO BY MARTY DAVIS
W
n a surprisingly quick ruling, Judge Frank
Bearden has moved the same-sex marriage
issue one step closer to resolution by punt
ing to the Oregon Supreme Court and the
JK L , Legislature.
In a decision that seemed to please everyone,
he decided that the word marriage does not
apply to same-sex couples hut that all o f the
privileges o f marriage do. Therefore, he ordered
Multnomah County to stop issuing marriage
licenses to same-sex couples; he ordered the
Legislature to either amend the marriage statute
or craft a civil unions hill; and, curiously, he
ordered the state to record the licenses o f the
marriages that had already been performed.
Kelly Clark was the attorney representing
the Defense o f Marriage Coalition before Bear
den. Just Out spoke with Clark the day after the
ruling was released.
BOOTH
& BRUCE
ENGLAND
w w w . h u u t It a n <1 h r u c i . c o r n
Fram e Sh ow
Saturday,
May 8,2004
11:00 am to 4:00 pm
Floyd Sklaver: W hat do you think of yes
terday’s ruling?
K elly C lark: [Bearden] deserves a lot o f cred
it because he did something we asked him to do,
which was to defer the social policy function to
the Legislature.... In this regard, it was an exam
ple of judicial restraint.... I think that’s a wise
decision.
Edgy, Contemporary
Eyeglass Frames
from England.
F S : D o you think the Legislature will take
advantage of it?
K C : I think they will eventually.... For those of
us conservatives who gripe about activist judges, it’s
frustrating sometimes to see legislatures not fulfilling
their constitutional role.... It’s hard for me to give
the Legislature much sympathy when they start grip
ing about other people usurping their power when
they will not use their power responsibly.
F S : So, if this case hadn’t been about
process, would you have taken it?
K C : I might have, but I can tell you what got
me fired up both professionally and personally
was the process by which M ultnom ah C ounty
did what they d id .... It certainly doesn’t do any
thing for people’s trust in government.
F S : W ouldn’t we be kidding ourselves if we
didn’t admit that this kind of thing happens all
the time on all sorts of issues?
K C : I don’t excuse any o f that. If it doesn’t
make sense for those on the left to do it, then it
doesn’t make sense for those on the right to do it.
F S : W hat do you think would have hap
pened if the county held open forum s and fol
lowed the proper channels?
Refreshments
served.
irtma
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