Supreme Court refuses to halt Oregon same

The U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt same-sex marriages in Oregon in a one sentence order handed down Wednesday.

The order, which came from the entire court after being referred by Justice Anthony Kennedy, provided no explanation for their decision. It came in response to an emergency stay request filed by the National Organization for Marriage seeking to put on hold a lower court's ruling from last month.

On May 19, U.S. District Court Judge Michael J. McShane declared a constitutional amendment approved by Oregon voters in 2004 defining marriage as between a man and a woman as in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

State officials in Oregon stated they would not appeal McShane's decision, which went into effect immediately. NOM had sought to intervene in the case to defend the state ban in federal court but were denied that request by McShane. NOM appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and, prior to the district court decision, requested an emergency stay to prevent marriages from beginning in Oregon. NOM's request for a stay was denied by the appellate court and today was denied by the Supreme Court.

Justin Snow is Metro Weekly's political editor and White House correspondent. He can be reached at jsnow@metroweekly.com.