BREAKING: 9th Circuit dismisses right-wing challenge to Oregon gay-rights laws

By Marshall Collins of Springfield, Oregon. Marshall describes himself as "a progressive dude loving life in Springfield with my partner and our house bunny."

Today, an opinion was issued [pdf] by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Lemons v. Bradbury.

Lemons is the lawsuit filed by right-wing nuts with the help of a well funded out of state legal group.

Here is my layman's timeline on the suit. For a more detailed look you can go to the Basic Rights Oregon website.

During the 2007 session the legislature passed the Oregon Family Fairness Act creating Domestic Partnerships for same-sex couples and the Oregon Equality Act adding sexual orientation to the list groups in which it is illegal to discriminate against.

A group of pissed off fundamentalists tried to gather signatures to create a referendum on these laws for the November 2008 Elections.

After a poorly organized and underfunded signature gathering drive barely enough raw signatures were turned in.

Using the same process for counting signatures that everyone else gets, both measures failed to make the ballot. By the SOS count, they were over 1000 short for the Oregon Equality Act and only 100 short for the Family Fairness Act.

So, the pissed-off fundamentalists - with the help of the Alliance Defense Fund - file suit challenging the counting process.

In February 2008, the lawsuit is dismissed by a conservative, Bush-appointed judge. The fundamentalists and their friends appeal to the 9th Circuit.

And now we are here today, and don't ya know the 9th Circuit has seen through the spin and deceit of the ADF and affirmed the decision of the circuit court. WIth the election only a couple months away this makes an appeal to the Supreme Court very unlikely as there just isn't enough time. That being said this will make it only the 2nd presidential election since 1984 that an anti-gay measure won't be on the ballot. I don't know about you but I could use a rest and I am sure BRO would love to be able to spend this election cycle paying forward all of the help they have received from candidates, officials and other non-profits and causes that have helped them over the years.

I turned 25 this year and grew up during the many fights for LGBT equality in this state. The wins, the losses, and the near misses were part of what made me who I am. The feelings of hope leading up to every election or floor vote. The feelings of joy when we won, the sadness when we lost. And I think sometimes most importantly learning to deal with and put to use the confusion and anger that I had for the people who wanted to deny me the rights that everyone else has.

I can't say that I wish it wasn't as hard as it was. It has shaped and molded me into a pretty neat guy and as as a person who is concerned with multiple issues facing us as humans it has changed my thinking to know that anything is possible with a hard work and persistance.

This week, as I am celebrating the gains our community has made in the last year and the decision handed down today I will be sending my best wishes to all of the candidates and issues that I believe in. Your time will come. Just remember to savor the journey no matter how long it may be and celebrate the success no matter how long it takes to receive it.