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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (March 18, 2011)
WWW.JUSTOUT.COM MARCH 18,2011 4 SUBMITTED PHOTO g 10 Better To Have Loved and Lost Couples to celebrate same-sex marriage licenses given but taken away B Y AARO N S P E N C E R They were floored when they heard. Pat Em- merson and Joyce Felton, a Portland lesbian couple, could now get married. Reports o f the news zipped from televisions and radios to of fice water coolers and coffee shops. “It was overwhelming,” Emmerson says.“Not only was I not going to get fired or get beaten up, but I was actually going to be legally recog nized for who I was.” The next day, March 3,2004, hundreds rushed to the Multnomah County building, where they stood in line in the cold rain waiting to say their vows and get marriage licenses. Later, more couples flocked to Keller Auditorium downtown, where weddings were held en masse. More than 3,000 gay and lesbian couples were wed during a seven-week period in spring 2004 after Multnomah County suddenly began issu ing wedding licenses to people of the same-sex. The marriages aroused much controversy both locally and nationally, and they were later ruled void by the Oregon Supreme Court. O r egon voters also passed a constitutional amend ment declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman. But one church in Port land is celebrating the fact that the marriages happened at all. “It was such a joyful time. It was an extraor dinary experience,” says the Rev. Kate Lore, so cial justice minister at the First Unitarian Church of Portland, which is throwing a week end-long event this month, seven years after the marriages. The celebration comes as LGBTQadvocates in Oregon prepare to make a renewed push for marriage. Advocacy group Basic Rights Oregon has a campaign under way that would make same-sex marriage legal in the state as soon as next year, effectively ending the ban enacted during the fallout from the Multnomah County ordeal in 2004. “Things have changed quite a bit in Oregon and across the country since 2004,” says Jeana Frazzini, executive direc tor o f BRO. “We’ve seen public sup port move quite rapidly in favor of same-sex couples’ rights.” I lere’s What You Missed In 2004, gay marriage had risen to the forefront o f U.S. public debate. The previous summer, two Canadian provinces, Ontario and British C o lumbia, began allowing same-sex marriage. In November 2003, the Massachusetts Supreme Court found the state’s ban on same-sex marriage to be unconstitutional, and in February 2004, San Francisco began issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians. At the same time, President George W. Bush was pushing to amend the Constitution to limit marriage between a man and a woman. Several states had passed similar laws, and plans were “Our w edding w as sort of w him sical. We skip p e d in to ‘Zip- a -D e e -D o o -D a h ’ instead of ‘ Here C o m e s the B rid e .’” -PAT EMMERSON i SAMPLE SALE Extended by Popular Demand! (P atrick s LAST DAY-MARCH 19 "Up to 70% off Select Floor Models organic + m odern sustainable furnishings Call Robert now to see what is going on with Rates! ROBERT HOGG, L ig h t in g C a r p e ts A c c e s s o rie s CPA Mortgage Broker • tahed aú loxe mu Call today and find out your options F inancial S e r v ic e s Captinl M o.liofl(C w f- a 503. 781.4181 www.RHFinondal.net 50 3 .2 9 5 .7 3 3 6 RH H m m m I h no* « tax consulting firm — RAINBOW ITAX S E R V I C E 503-482-8298 jackie@ rainbow tax.net M A K E A N A P P O IN T M E N T TO D AY! 2011 HOMO PROMO Check www.rainbowtax.net for details. / ew fm o d ern .com | IRS Deadline for 2011: APRIL 18, Time is running out! Rainbow Tax Service is offering all registered domestic partners a discount on the preparation o f their 2010 Tax Returns. We will not charge you for the extra federal tax return required to file your 2010 Oregon Tax Return. 1122 nw glisan Jackie Wheatley is a local CPA with over 18 years o f experience serving the tax, accounting and technology needs of individuals, small businesses and nonprofit organizations. Mention this ad and we will grant you or your company a 10% discount off our regular rates. HOLLYWOOD ANTIQUES PO R TLAN D ’S PREMIRE ANTIQUE est. 1983 MALL sto p by an d m eet F r i t z t h e o ld g o a t 1 9 6 9 NE 4 2 Ave. P ortlan d, OR 9 7 2 1 3 503 . 288.1051 , * h o lly w o o d a n tiq u e m a ll.c o m
