Politics
Across the national spectrum, it was anticipated that Oregon would be the most "gay friendly" as far as this round of lobbying for social change goes, and that eventually it would honor same-sex marriages from other states, and begin fully licensing same-sex marriage itself on a regular basis.
Not that it hadn’t started down that road already. At some unannounced point in the back halls of Oregon’s State Attorney office, someone in that branch declared Oregon's codified law defining marriage as unconstitutional. Certain administrators in Portland, Oregon’s largest city and sporting the west coast’s second largest gay population second only to San Francisco, took that as a “go-ahead” cue and began to issue licenses to same-sex couples and conducted civil services in the courthouse as a result.
The bottom line was that while Oregon had a law defining marriage between a man and a woman, it wasn’t specifically spelled out in the constitution which had been originally drafted in the 1850s when the idea wasn’t even conceivable. Chances are, had the Oregon Territory specifically allowed for gay marriages in its original framework, it would have been denied statehood, much like the Utah Territory had been denied statehood largely in part because of its widespread practice of bigamy among the Mormon population.
By this constitutional “loophole”, then, it was then declared that the law was unconstitutional and so could be summarily ignored. And so through this political and legal maneuvering, the proverbial dam broke from the pressures put upon by the gay community of Portland, and licenses began freely flowing from the city offices without any due process of defining what was the intent of the framework of Oregon’s constitution and its accompanying legal code. It was a gross misuse of elected city officials' power and position, and a blitzkrieg attempt on the pro-gay camp to leverage social change without a referendum from the general population or state legislature.
After some three thousand licenses were issued, an injunction had to be made to stop the "marriages" so that this could be sorted out both legally and with some semblance of civil and political order. This led to more legal maneuverings from both sides in the courts, scattered rulings, civil suits, appeals for reversals, and things were getting generally messy.
Had this not been an election year, my personal belief is that the battles in the courts would have not gone so well. Laws and judges descisions can easily be overturned with the juggernaut of pressure coming from a very loud and well financed minority, along with Oregon being an exceedingly liberal state in its court system, and with somewhat of a penchant for desiring the limelight and national attention by being the first on the fringe of many “progressive” issues. But God had other plans in His timing.
With election time looming ahead, a measure was drafted to amend the constitution of Oregon to define marriage between one man and one woman, effectively stopping up the “loophole”, and restoring the original intent of the framers of our state’s constitution. The people of Oregon got to define what marriage is within its borders (how about that for an idea?) and not have a panel of judges decide, or a lobby group threatening our elected officials, or pressuring businesses with boycotts if they didn’t prove themselves to be “gay-friendly”. All the people of Oregon got to have a say, not just those with access to the media, the arts, and other means of mass communication or persuasion.
When the dust settled, and the ballots were cast, the margin was decisive in favor of a traditional marriage definition. This was not an instance of the majority dictating to a minority population, but rather, as has been argued across the country how these matters should be decided – a state deciding by fair political process how they were going to define an issue and govern themselves accordingly. Now the people of Oregon are insulated from a judge’s interpretation defining marriage for a people, and public and private institutions need not feel financial or political pressure to oblige a minority on their view of social foundations, and now there is a structure to insure minor civic officials cannot suddenly declare open season for marriages because of manufactured political maneuverings.
During this whole debate, the gay community has accused their political opponents of “cramming their religion down people’s throats”. This has been a favorite battle cry here in Oregon, aimed at people whether they are acting from a religious conviction or not. I personally find the irony in the charge of taking an agenda and “cramming it down people’s throats” quite the rock’s throw from a glass house, but hypocrisy in politics is commonplace and can certainly go both ways.
In a political arena where people on differing sides of a particular issue are considered “opponents” and “detractors”, how do we communicate the idea that we are against an agenda that we consider “sin”, and yet show the love of Jesus to its proponents? What spiritual casualties can we inflict by being outspoken against something gay people consider life-defining, and yet we classify as being morally wrong, and then attempt to tell them of our sincerity to show them God’s love? How do we, in the heat of the political battlefield, champion our own convictions and staunchly held beliefs without turning a cold shoulder to the exact group of hurting people to whom we should be holding out a loving hand?
Unfortunately, too many people in their own enthusiasm to champion the “moral right” have thrown out compassion in favor of victory. It’s the same dilemma as to whether or not run negative campaign ads: the bottom line is, they work. Given a choice between running an honest campaign and losing to someone who hits below the belt, or to take off the gloves and fight dirty in order to secure a victory, rarely would people settle for losing. And yet, what have we said about ourselves if we are willing to take off the gloves and hit below the belt in order to assure and secure a victory for such fundamental foundations. Is this zealous devotion, or spiritual hypocrisy?
For now, the smoke has cleared, and while we in Oregon for now have been able to settle the matter of defining marriage with relatively few casualties -- save for those that were wrongly promised a legitimate union with their partner without the political and legal structure to support such a promise, or those who choose to view the people of Oregon’s marriage definition as a personal rejection upon them by Oregonians and by Christians in particular. The lingering fear is that more steps will be initiated, or resurrected, to further alienate gay individuals within the civic structure.
Christians, and others, are a bit shell-shocked by the swiftness by which the political machine in Portland was poised to redefine a foundational social issue without regard to legal or political process, which caused a back-lash in the resulting referendum to define marriage constitutionally. The lingering fear is that if it could happen once, chances are the same machinery is in place to do it again, given another manufactured “loophole”, to leverage social change against the wishes of the general consciousness and that such loopholes are being sought even now.
Some churches and organizations have and are attempting to find common ground between religious ideologies and sexual orientation issues, but draw fire from both camps as either bankrupting moral values in the name of acceptance, or paying lip service without walking its talk when things heat up. This is by no means a closed issue in Oregon, but it is a milestone in a continuing conflict, where playing for “keeps” can have eternal consequences. We can only at best see with our eyes, hear with our ears, and pray for wisdom.
--David Ian
Follow up: As of 4/14/05 the Supreme Court of Oregon ruled that the county had no authority to take such action for something that had no statewide sanction. The court also cited that Oregonians had since passed a constitutional statement defining marriage, and so the 3,000 same-sex licenses were nullified and declared non-valid. This was the highest court in Oregon, not some lobby group, not some so-called "hate group", not even a bigotted majority of the population oppressing a disenfranchised mintority. Marriage has a solidified definition in Oregon now, in the constitution, in the law, and in its highest court.
The governor of the state is pushing for a law to allow civil unions which would give same-sex couples many of the rights enjoyed by conventional marriages. State Legislators on both sides of the issue have been waiting for this ruling before moving forward with their agendas. It is now only wait and see for the next "round".
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Great article. Well balanced and superbly written. I hope it's widely published.
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