Within hours of Oregon attorney
general's announcement that she would not defend the state's ban on
gay marriage in court, Oregon United for Marriage suspended its
campaign to put the issue on the November ballot.
Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said
that her office would not defend the state's 2004 voter-approved
constitutional amendment in a federal lawsuit, calling the ban
unconstitutional.
(Related: Oregon
AG Ellen Rosenblum won't defend state's gay marriage ban.)
Oregon United for Marriage began
collecting signatures for a referendum to repeal the amendment last
summer and said in December that it had reached its goal.
“Attorney General Rosenblum's
historic announcement puts us on a strong path to securing marriage
for Oregon's loving, committed couples in the courts – which is why
we have decided to hold on to our signatures pending the outcome of
the federal lawsuit challenging Oregon's marriage ban,” the group
said in a
Facebook post.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,
which oversees Oregon, has already agreed to fast-track a similar
lawsuit challenging Nevada's ban. Earlier this month, Nevada's
attorney general withdrew from defending the case.
(Related: Nevada
withdraws defense of gay marriage ban that invoked bigamy, incest.)