Oregon's Traditional Marriage Drive Gains Historic Support

By Pauline J. Chang

On June 30, 2004, the Defense of Marriage Coalition submitted some 240,000 signatures in support of traditional marriage – more than twice the amount necessary to place the issue on the state’s November ballot and the highest number of signatures ever submitted for an initiative measure in Oregon’s history.

While officials have yet to verify the signatures, only 100,840 need to be valid for a proposed constitutional amendment banning gay “marriage” to go to the voters later this year.

This overwhelming citizen support for traditional marriage is likely a backlash to the liberal Multnomah County’s move to issue 3,000 gay “marriage” licenses four months ago. The status of those licenses have yet to be decided.

Currently, 39 states have laws protecting traditional marriage and legislatures in five states — Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Utah — have placed similar amendments on this November's ballot. Citizen drives, similar to the one in Oregon, are also underway in Arkansas, Michigan, Ohio and Montana.

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