Supreme Court Decision Brings Joy to Oregon United for Marriage & Basic Rights Oregon

Portland, June 26th, 2015. The rainbow flag graced the facade of Portland’s City Hall to mark the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling granting same sex couples the right to marry in all 50 states. Hundreds converged on Terry Shrunk Plaza to celebrate the momentous occasion. Their chants of, “Love has won, we’re not done,” echoed through the streets.

Many Oregon nonprofits worked toward securing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, among others they include:

• Oregon United for Marriage was the coalition dedicated to securing the freedom to marry for same-sex couples, initially leading the campaign to make Oregon the first state to proactively amend the constitution at the ballot in support of the freedom to marry and later taking advantage of a faster route to the freedom to marry in the courts.
• Basic Rights Oregon is Oregon’s central state organization committed to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• The ACLU of Oregon works to protect the rights and liberties of all Oregonians through lobbying, litigation and education.
• Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples nationwide.

Basic Rights Oregon leaders wrote, “The freedom to marry is the law of the land across the United States. It is a moment that many of us never thought we’d see in our lifetimes, especially after the painful passage of the “Defense of Marriage Act” in 1996. It is a moment of joy, of celebration, and of reflection. It is also the moment to look forward… Love won. Freedom won. Dignity, respect, justice, fairness—all won out over fear and discrimination. It’s worth reflecting on how far we’ve come, because doing so offers great hope for where we might go, together.”

The Portland celebrations mirrored those seen across the US.

From Basic Right Oregon:

Together with Freedom to Marry and other national partners, Basic Rights Oregon endeavored to foster an entirely different kind of conversation among Oregonians. LGBTQ Oregonians began having courageous conversations about love, and commitment, and the pain of being told it was illegal to marry the love of one’s life.