OREGON: Today Could Be The Day

I ran this same headline last Wednesday because there was a chance that the judge would immediately issue his order for the commencement of same-sex marriages after he dealt with NOM's ultimately failed motion to intervene. That didn't happen but on Friday the judge promised to issue his ruling at noon local time today. The state is ready. 

The Multnomah County workers responsible for issuing marriage licenses have already indicated they are ready to serve same-sex couples if McShane opens that door with his opinion. In Clackamas County, a few minor tweaks to computer software are still needed, but that should all be ironed out by Monday. "We're definitely ready to go," said Cindy Swick, manager in the county Recorder's Office. A spokeswoman for the Washington County Recording Office said they have yet to receive paperwork from the state's Vital Records division that would allow couples to pick up the needed forms. However, same-sex couples will be able to come in to the office as early as Monday and use in-office computers to receive their marriage licenses, she said.

Oregon has a three-day waiting period before a marriage can take place after the license is issued. However county clerks can waive the waiting period for an additional fee if the couple has a "good reason" like imminent military deployment or grave illness. I'm sure you can think of a couple other very good reasons. Oregon United will have officiants, photographers, and flowers on hand in Multnomah County, home to Portland, in the event of good news.

NOTE: For overseas JMG readers, noon Oregon time is 3PM in NYC and 8PM in London.