This just in… Officials in Multnomah County (Greater Portland, Oregon) have announced that starting tomorrow at 10:00AM, they will start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. They’re exploiting the wording of the law that reads, in part:

106.010 Marriage as civil contract; age of parties. Marriage is a civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age…

It seems the plural “males” and “females” is vague enough to assume that it could be two males and no females or two females and no males. Ain’t law grand?

Of course, it’s only a matter of time before the sagebrush-dwelling cattle ranchers who dominate the Oregon east of the Cascades push for a ballot measure to legalize discrimination. But I feel the tide is turning. Polls show that the younger people tend to support gay marriage and the older people don’t:

“Would you favor or oppose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution saying that NO state can allow two men to marry each other or two women to marry each other?”

                   Favor Oppose

    

 ALL                 41% 48%

    

 18-29 years old     30% 58%

 30-44               42% 49%

 45-64               44% 45%

 65 & older          49% 40%



 Republicans         57% 35%

 Democrats           34% 57%

 Independents        37% 52%

So I think time is on our side. Old folks are the only ones supporting an anti-gay marriage amendment, and they’re gonna die soon. People under 30, who can’t even imagine a sitcom without a likable gay character, are against it almost 2-to-1.

It’s also interesting how the Republican/Democrat polling shows nearly identically opposite numbers of support for an amendment. Crazy, is it not, how the party of states’ rights wants the Federal Government to dictate this issue?

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