The action marked the latest turn in what has been a whirlwind federal court case challenging the constitutionality of a 2004 state-wide referendum.
The state’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, announced midway through the litigation that she had decided that the marriage restriction was unconstitutional and that her office would no longer defend the measure. She also announced that her office would not comply with a state provision that barred recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions.
The action meant that the defendants in the case – the State of Oregon – would no longer oppose the arguments of the same-sex couples who were suing the state to be allowed to marry.
Judge McShane conducted a hearing and agreed with both the couples and the attorney general that the ban on same-sex marriages was unconstitutional.
Lawyers with NOM sought to intervene in the case, arguing that no one in the proceeding was properly representing the interests of the Oregon voters who supported the state-wide referendum restricting marriage.