OR-Sen: Jeff Merkley (D) Helps Kick Off The Campaign To Repeal Oregon's Same Sex Marriage Ban

DailyKos:

Well Illinois may not be the 13th state to legalize marriage equality but Senator Jeff Merkley (D. OR) is working hard to help make Oregon the next state to legalize marriage equality: http://www.ontopmag.com/...

Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley was among the community leaders participating in the first Summer of Love campaign event. The campaign is part of the effort to repeal Oregon's 2004 voter-approved constitutional amendment which limits marriage to heterosexual couples. Marriage equality advocates hope to put the issue before voters in 2014. Merkley was joined by several hundred volunteers at the event held in the basement of Sunnyside Church in Portland. Merkley told Oregon Public Radio that the state's civil rights laws were lacking. “But that framework is incomplete until we allow the full rights of marriage for all our citizens,” Mekley said. In addition to Merkley, Rev. Chuck Currie, retired Lt. Col. Linda Campbell and Oregon United for Marriage chief petitioner Jeana Frazzini spoke at the event. - On Top Magazine, 6/2/13

The marriage equality advocacy group, Oregon United For Marriage, was thrilled to have Merkley help them kick of the "Summer of Love": http://lgbtweekly.com/...

“Saturday is the first day of Pride month, and it’s a great day to kick off the “Summer of Love” – to ensure that every loving, committed couple can marry in Oregon,” says Jeana Frazzini, Oregon United for Marriage chief petitioner. “In Oregon, we believe in basic freedom, and in treating others as we would want to be treated ourselves. We are thrilled to be joined by Sen. Jeff Merkley, a longtime advocate for fairness and equality.” In Oregon, Oregon United for Marriage held 14 events around the state on February 14, from Portland to Pendleton, to launch the campaign. In jsut a few days, Oregon United for Marriage gathered twice the necessary signatures to start the ballot process. Soon, Oregon United for Marriage will begin collecting the required 161,284 valid signatures needed to get the measure on the ballot in November 2014. Volunteers at the Summer of Love kickoff events in Portland, Bend, Ashland and Eugene will rally, then head out into their communities to talk to voters about love, commitment, and basic fairness, in an effort to identify marriage equality supporters and get them involved in the campaign. - LGBT Weekly, 5/31/13

Rev. Chuck Currie, another strong advocate of marriage equality, had this to say at Saturday's event: http://www.opb.org/...

"I'm tired of being on the defensive on this issue," said Reverend Chuck Currie. He stood in the basement of Sunnyside Church and recalled his opposition to Measure 36 in 2004.  That year, voters amended Oregon's Constitution, defining marriage as a heterosexual union. Now Currie and others are preparing for a  campaign to repeal it. - Oregon public Broadcasting, 6/1/13 Now of course the marriage equality movement in Oregon has it's opponents:

Teresa Harke s a spokeswoman for Protect Marriage Oregon. Her group opposes such a measure. Teresa Harke "This isn't about restricting or trying o keep other people out of it. It's about respecting what marriage is - a separate union that deserves its own name."     Harke says her group is also doing some preliminary organizing, but calls this an early stage in the campaign. - Oregon Public Broadcasting, 6/1/13

But there's one big opponent the marriage equality movement on Oregon won't have to worry about: http://www.motherjones.com/...

It's remarkable what has happened in the marriage fight since the Mormons decided to abandon it. Consider that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was the single biggest funder and organizer of the 2008 campaign to pass California's Proposition 8, which banned same-sex marriage in one of America's most liberal states. The church is estimated to have directed at least $20 million to that effort, along with significant organizing clout. Documents unearthed by activist Fred Karger showed that the Mormons had 77 people working full time at the church's Salt Lake City headquarters to get Prop. 8 passed. The church, in fact, had been a crucial (if not always visible) player since the 1990s, when it helped fend off efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Hawaii and California. As far back as 1996, high-ranking LDS officials were coordinating behind the scenes and raising hundreds of thousands of dollars to orchestrate what became the first state-level vote to ban gay marriage in Hawaii. Top church officials were also heavily involved in the creation of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the primary player over the last decade in the fight to outlaw gay unions. But after the Mormon involvement in Prop. 8 was fully exposed, the backlash was severe—and apparently unexpected. The church became a target for public protests, and lost a considerable number of members who were unhappy with its involvement in a political issue that had caused individual LDS families a lot of grief. In the campaign's aftermath, a top church leader even apologized to gay church members for the pain they'd suffered. - Mother Jones, 5/10/13

Plus Joan McCarter showed earlier last month that the majority of Oregon voters support marriage equality.  You can read her diary here: http://www.dailykos.com/... If you live in Oregon and would like to get involved with Oregon United for Marriage, you can check out their website here: http://www.oregonunitedformarriage.org/ And if you would like to contribute to Senator Merkley's re-election campaign, you can do so here:

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