OREGON: NOM Files SCOTUS Brief Demanding Stay On Same-Sex Marriages

"We are asking Justice Kennedy and the U.S. Supreme Court to take the step of staying the decision of Judge McShane so that NOM can pursue its request to intervene in the case in order to mount a defense of the people’s vote for marriage. This case is an ugly spectacle of the state refusing to defend the sovereign act of its voters to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman and instead working jointly with the plaintiffs to redefine marriage. The Supreme Court has made it abundantly clear that it does not want a profound social change such as redefining marriage to be made by trial judges without the Supreme Court itself deciding the issue.

"In Oregon, not only do we have a single trial court judge imposing his own opinion and invalidating the votes of the overwhelming majority of Oregon voters, but the case involves the state Attorney General refusing to even mount a defense of the people’s decision. This should be very troubling to Justice Kennedy. NOM believes it has a strong legal right to intervene in this case in order to mount a defense of Oregon’s marriage amendment. We are hopeful that the Supreme Court will allow us to defend the decision of Oregon’s electorate to define marriage as one man and one woman." - John Eastman, chairman of NOM.