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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 19, 2004)
november 19.2004 • J l l S t Oliti 1 3 rTìTìTTTTTRTJnews Continued from Page 11 would provide limited means to sue the govern ment if it were to discriminate based on race or gender, and laws barring interracial marriage and forbidding women from entering saloons and authorizing sterilization of mentally dis abled persons would be permissible once again.” "It is not unconstitutional for the Legisla- ture to craft marriage statutes as between man and woman,” says Kelly Clark, attorney for the coalition. “We will argue that Measure 36 answers the question of whether traditional I marriage statutes are constitutional.” Separate but equal? Rut Fidanque says there is much more at play than a pat answer to a simple legal question. ccording to Clark, restricting marriage “This case is the first opportunity the Ore rights to heterosexual couples is not a gon Supreme Court has had to review the issue throwback to “separate but equal.” of whether or not discrimination on the basis of “A legislature could believe...a family is a sexual orientation is forbidden by the Oregon husband, wife and kids...without having preju Bill of Rights,” he says. “The case has become dice against anybody,” he says. all the more important because the court is Fear of gay parenting appears to be a key using it as a vehicle to re-evaluate all of its prior motivating force behind Clark’s case. He claims decisions on discrimination.” “the only reason for state legislation of private That fact concerns many relationships is because of pro civil rights groups. Recently, creation.” And in his clients’ Charles F. Hinkle of Stoel view, procreating is the sole ter "There are Rives in Portland filed a ritory of opposite-sex couples. friend-of-the-court brief on a t least a thousand To back their claim that behalf of 21 Oregon and kids need one mommy and one different paths national civil rights organi daddy only, the Defense of zations and leaders including Marriage Coalition relies on the court could go the Urban League of Port conservative Christian “tradi land, Asian Pacific Ameri tional marriage” advocates like down with this case" can Network of Oregon, Timothy J. Dailey, a “fellow” at Japanese American Citizens the Family Research Council. -D avid Fidanque League and Southern Pover In an essay linked to the coali ty Law Center. tion’s Web site, he writes: “ In a The brief states: “In the present case, the democratic society, those who choose to co opponents of marriage equality...seek to turn habit in ‘alternative’ familial arrangements such the clock back to 1857, to a time when the con as same-sex unions have the freedom to do so. cept o f ‘equality’ under the law was reserved for But toleration is one thing; promotion and ‘cel white males. If the opponents of marriage equal ebration’ are another. To entrust children to ity have their way, the Oregon Constitution such arrangements is wholly beyond the pale.” So far, people like Portland couple Mary Li and Becky Kennedy have not had to ask people like Dailey for permission to raise children. But according to BRO executive director Roey Thorpe, restricting same-sex parenting rights is foremost on the conservative agenda. “We already know about conservative legis lators drafting bills that would limit adoption rights for same-sex couples,” she says. One of the first same-sex couples married in the county and the lead plaintiffs in the ACLU case, Li and Kennedy have sacrificed a degree of privacy for the sake of advancing equal rights. Li says a number of factors keep them going in the public struggle for their private rights. For one, she says, they want to teach their 17- month-old daughter, Ava, that “it’s important to do the right thing, even when it’s hard.” “Our belief is that this is the moral high ground,” she says. After Measure 36 passed, Li says she and Kennedy were “disappointed and hurt.” “Intellectually, we knew the best we could do is fight it close,” she told Just Out. “Emotionally, we had the response that we’d been attacked, that we’d been told we were second-class.” However, Li says she and Kennedy are in this for the long haul. “We never thought this would be a cakewalk.” Rather than sounding defeated, Li has displayed courage and inspiration in the face of the continued struggle for marriage equality. “ How privileged we were to be alive at this tim e,” she says, "to be participating in one of the most im portant civil rights issues of our tim e." No matter what the outcome of this court case, Green feels optimistic that marriage rights will be afforded to same-sex couples in the future. "I think that day is inevitable, but it’s going to be a while,” he says. “What we’re dealing with is step two in a 10- or 15-part process.” Pushing forward on many fronts n addition to battling the Defense of Marriage Coalition in court, Basic Rights Oregon has a full plate in the coming post- Measure 36 days. Thorpe says BRO will be turning its attention to the new legislative session in January. “We are imagining that LG B T rights and issues will be very much in play this session.” Top on BRO ’s agenda is passing a civil rights bill that would provide statewide pro tections based on sexual orientation and gen der identity, much like the protections in cities like Portland. Thorpe is hopeful that the hill has a gtxxl chance of passing. “Our polling showed that over 80 percent of Oregonians support protecting gays and les bians from discrimination,” she says. Another top issue for the nonprofit orga nization is adding gender identity to the state hate crimes bill. “We’re not only focused on same-sex mar riage,” Thorpe says. “ But we’re not stopping that fight.” jH To read the written legal pleadings for Ll &. K ennedy vs . S tate of O regon , go to www.aclwor.org. 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