Oregon_Timothy_HughesAnother huge victory for marriage! This time it’s Oregon, where Judge Michael McShane just ensured that NOM is going to have a really really really bad day.

Things were already going pretty poorly for them there. First, Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum announced on February 20th that she wouldn’t defend the state’s marriage ban in court. NOM didn’t care for that one bit, and on the same day issued a press release condemning her.

NOM would eventually file a request to intervene in the case, but they waited two months to do so! Their request came just less than 48 hours before oral argument. They claimed that it took them so long because they didn’t know about Rosenblum’s stand until mid-March, but that doesn’t hold up since they issued that angry press release back in February.

So of course, McShane denied NOM’s request to intervene. He also smacked down their assertion that, as an openly gay judge, he shouldn’t be allowed to preside over the case.

All in all, a pretty grim time at the National Organization for Marriage headquarters. Ohhhhhh well.

And hey, we were so busy gloating about Oregon that we almost forgot about our big wins in Idaho and Arkansas! Marriage bans were overturned in both of those states, though licenses are currently on hold. There were a few brief windows of marriage in Arkansas, though, so equality had a brief moment of triumph in the south.

There’s more good news this week: AFER had a good day in court to defend its previous victory over Virginia’s marriage ban. And advocates in Pennsylvania argued for the repeal of that state’s ban. A ruling in both states is due any day now.

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