Marriage equality qualifies for Oregon 2014 ballot

A couple in Portland, Maine, celebrates. It's time Portland, Oregon, couples can, too.

A couple in Portland, Maine, celebrates. It's time Portland, Oregon, couples can, too.

Happy news from Oregon, where this weekend Oregon United for Marriage announced that it had gotten enough signatures to qualify for the November 2014 ballot. The news came in an email announcement.

“It's been just four months since we started gathering signatures on the Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Initiative,” said Ryan Brown, the group's field director. “Thanks to volunteer signature gatherers in every Oregon county, I have some amazing news to share: We have over 116,284 signatures in hand!”
Signature gathering will continue to guard against failing to qualify due to invalid or duplicate signatures.

Oregon has the chance to make history by becoming the first state to repeal a marriage ban. In 2004, the state's voters approved a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. Now's their chance to rectify that big mistake. The prospects for that look good at this point, with the phenomenal success of the petition drive so far. But the fact that Oregon would be the first to repeal means that the bigots are going to be out in full force and with lots of money to fight.

Opponents to equality are well-organized there because of their win a decade ago, and will keep fighting. Please contribute now to Oregon United for Marriage.