Statewide vote on gay rights law still pursued

By JOHN FORTMEYER
CNNW publisher
PORTLAND — Although rebuffed in federal court here, a Christian legal action agency is pressing ahead with undiminished energy to force a statewide vote this November on overturning one of Oregon’s new homosexual rights laws.
In the meantime, representatives of concerned Christian groups in Oregon say they intend to file this month for a new initiative campaign this year with the same goal of a statewide election.
At press time, attorneys for the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund say they intend to file an appeal this month of U.S. District Judge Michael Mosmon’s Feb. 1 rejection of ADF’s lawsuit that sought to block the domestic partnership law passed last year by the state Legislature. That appeal will be filed with the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Calif.,
Simultaneously, ADF also intends to go back to Mosman, asking him — in light of the new appeal — to “enjoin,” or prohibit, application of the new law that went into effect with his ruling Feb. 1.
Austin Nimocks, lead attorney on the case for ADF, told Christian News Northwest he was uncertain how soon Mosman would act on the new request.
Mosman’s Feb. 1 ruling lifted a preliminary injunction against the law, House Bill 2007, and thus meant that same-sex couples on Feb. 4 were able to start signing up for domestic partnerships, entitling them to most of the duties and benefits married residents enjoy.
Gay rights advocates, who had worked for years for passage of a domestic partnership law, were jubilant over Mosman’s decision. They contend that Oregonians support domestic partnerships and agreed with Mosman that opponents of the law had failed to gather the necessary signatures to place the law on the ballot for referendum.
But Nimocks strongly disagreed with the judge. Nimocks said elections officials in several Oregon counties were still wrong to “disenfranchise” a number of signers of last year’s petition to put HB 2007 before the voters.
“In America, every citizen’s voice counts,” said Nimocks. “Government bureaucrats cannot decide what is best for the people of Oregon ... Their signatures were genuine and no legitimate reason existed to refuse to allow these registered voters to participate in the democratic process. Our country is founded on the basic principle of government of the people, by the people and for the people. It should stay that way in Oregon.”
Regarding Mosman’s ruling, Nimocks said he was “as surprised as every Oregonian who thought that, when they signed a petition, that their signature meant something.”
David Crowe of Concerned Oregonians, one of the Christian groups that pursued last year’s initiative campaign, said he and members of his team were “incensed, if not outraged,” by Mosman’s ruling, and that more and more people are re-energized to pursue a fresh initiative campaign that could again involve many churches statewide.
“They are encouraged, even exhilirated, that Alliance Defense Fund and we, are taking a stand on these important issues, and revealing the state officials for what they are doing,” said Crowe. “We and ADF have given them more hope that something can be done in Oregon than anyone in decades.”
Nimocks said that typically it takes the Ninth Circuit more than a year to act on an appeals filing. “But because of the circumstances we will ask for an expedited basis,” he said. “We still believe the voices of Oregonians should count and the matter should be on this November’s ballot.”
Nimocks acknowledged that the Ninth Circuit has a liberal reputation, but said the issues being raised in the new appeal are extremely fundamental to America’s political system. “This issue that we have is a liberal issue,” he said. “This is voting. This is democracy. This is about the foundation of our country. We are in a democracy and not a dictatorship. I expect nothing but receptive and interested minds (from the court) on this important fundamental issue.”
To get the law on this fall’s ballot, a ruling would be needed from the Ninth Circuit this summer, he said.
The other law, Senate Bill 2, went into effect Jan. 1. It bans discrimination against homosexuals in work, housing and public places.