On December 19, 2013, two same-sex couples residing in Oregon who wished to have a state-recognized marriage filed a lawsuit in the District of Oregon U.S. District Court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the state of Oregon. The plaintiff was represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and asked the court to declare that Oregon laws banning same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, issue a permanent injunction requiring the state to grant to same-sex couples the same full and equal recognition, rights, and privileges given to different-sex couples, recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages, and award the plaintiffs costs of suit and reasonable attorneys' fees.

The plaintiffs claimed that by prohibiting residents from entering into a same-sex marriage, and by refusing to recognize legal same-sex marriages that took place out-of-state, the state of Oregon was violating the plaintiffs constitutional rights under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses. They also allege that the ban injures them by denying them medical and government benefits available to married same-sex couples, as well as interfering with their dignity, autonomy, family integrity.

The plaintiffs filed a motion for summary judgment a week later on February 18, 2014. On May 19, 2014, the Court (Judge Michael J. McShane) granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs and found that there was no legitimate state interest that would justify the denial of the full and equal recognition to the marriages of same-sex couples. The court declared that Oregon laws banning same-sex marriages violated the Equal Protection Clause and were unconstitutional, and permanently enjoined the defendants from enforcing them. The order also required that the defendants recognize same-sex-marriages formalized in other states. Rummell v. Kitzhaber, 2014 WL 2054264 (D. Oregon 2014).

The defendants appealed to Supreme Court Justice Kennedy for a stay of the decision, but this was denied on June 4, 2014. Proceedings continued on the matter of awarding attorneys' fees as of July 23, 2014.

Megan Dolan - 07/24/2014


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