Rick Dean
Registered
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/031...tland16-ON.html
Gay couples see Portland, Ore., as last resort for marriage
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Associated Press
Mar. 16, 2004 11:34 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. - Judith Angelo and her partner, Dee Shedlow, were on an airplane heading west when they heard San Francisco had ended its monthlong wedding spree.
It was time for Plan B: Portland.
"I spent six hours on the phone rearranging flight plans and hotels," said Angelo, who lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
The couple joined dozens of gay men and lesbi
ns from around the nation Monday in applying for marriage licenses in Multnomah County. The county has issued more than 2,000 licenses to gay couples since March 3, when county commissioners said refusing t
o do
so would be unconstitutional.
San Francisco started issuing same-sex lice
nses about a month ago, but the California Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a halt. Officials in communities in New York and New Jersey were also ordered to stop.
That made Portland the last resort. Of the roughly 30 couples standing in line when the marriage office opened, almost all were from outside the area.
"I said, 'We got to go to Portland,' " said John Bergmann of Sacramento, Calif., there with his partner, Gary Hughes.
The couples feared they had wasted a trip. Oregon's attorney general issued a nonbinding opinion Friday that gay marriage is illegal under current state law, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski asked the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners to halt the practice.
But the board decided Monday to continue issuing the licenses.
Joan Kremer came from River Falls, Wis., to marry her partner of 13 years, Brenda Keller. They arrived at the county building at 7
a.m., and fi
ve hours later were the first couple out the door with a marriage license application.
"Thank God you
had a wedding to come to instead of just a lot of sorrowful faces," a jubilant Kremer told her adult children.
Tony Clemente and Gary Jeroy of Bloomfield, Mich., almost decided not to come to the marriage license office but changed their minds at the last minute.
"This is so exciting," Clemente said as hugged his partner of 31 years. "TV cameras are here and I'm crying my eyes out like a fool."
Gay couples see Portland, Ore., as last resort for marriage
advertisement
Associated Press
Mar. 16, 2004 11:34 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. - Judith Angelo and her partner, Dee Shedlow, were on an airplane heading west when they heard San Francisco had ended its monthlong wedding spree.
It was time for Plan B: Portland.
"I spent six hours on the phone rearranging flight plans and hotels," said Angelo, who lives in Cleveland Heights, Ohio.
The couple joined dozens of gay men and lesbi
ns from around the nation Monday in applying for marriage licenses in Multnomah County. The county has issued more than 2,000 licenses to gay couples since March 3, when county commissioners said refusing t
o do
so would be unconstitutional.
San Francisco started issuing same-sex lice
nses about a month ago, but the California Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a halt. Officials in communities in New York and New Jersey were also ordered to stop.
That made Portland the last resort. Of the roughly 30 couples standing in line when the marriage office opened, almost all were from outside the area.
"I said, 'We got to go to Portland,' " said John Bergmann of Sacramento, Calif., there with his partner, Gary Hughes.
The couples feared they had wasted a trip. Oregon's attorney general issued a nonbinding opinion Friday that gay marriage is illegal under current state law, and Gov. Ted Kulongoski asked the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners to halt the practice.
But the board decided Monday to continue issuing the licenses.
Joan Kremer came from River Falls, Wis., to marry her partner of 13 years, Brenda Keller. They arrived at the county building at 7
a.m., and fi
ve hours later were the first couple out the door with a marriage license application.
"Thank God you
had a wedding to come to instead of just a lot of sorrowful faces," a jubilant Kremer told her adult children.
Tony Clemente and Gary Jeroy of Bloomfield, Mich., almost decided not to come to the marriage license office but changed their minds at the last minute.
"This is so exciting," Clemente said as hugged his partner of 31 years. "TV cameras are here and I'm crying my eyes out like a fool."