OREGON: Ninth Circuit Court Judge Calls Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unconstitutional

Ninth Circuit Court Judge Harry Pregerson yesterday ruled in favor of an Oregon lesbian who has been denied federal health benefits for her partner. The judge's ruling does not overturn Oregon's 2004 ban on same-sex marriage.

Pregerson ruled on a narrow personnel case in which Alison Clark appealed the denial of benefits for her partner, Anna Campbell, under the Federal Employees Health Care Benefits program. Clark, a public defender in Portland, married Campbell in British Columbia on June 23, 2012. But when the couple returned to Oregon and applied for health benefits, they were denied under the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which also defines marriage as between one man and one woman. The state of Oregon did not recognize their marriage, under Measure 36. Clark appealed the decision about her benefits, and Pregerson ruled in her favor. “The denial of Clark’s request for spousal FEHB benefits was based on Clark’s sexual orientation, and thus violates the plan’s prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.”

Activists are working place a repeal of the ban on the 2014 ballot. (Image via Memeograph)