This just in from the opposition.

Oral arguments have been set for Friday, December 28th at 10AM by the Multnomah County Federal Court in which a motion was filed yesterday by Alliance Defense Fund attorneys for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction that could prevent HB 2007 creating 'domestic partnerships' becoming law in Oregon January 1.

According to the filing, "The instant action is one for injunctive and other relief wherein the constitutionality of Oregon's statutory and administrative scheme relating to petitions and/or referendums to place a statewide advisory question upon the ballot, is in issue. Plaintiffs are signers of Referendum 303 (my hilites) and claim that, inter alia, the statutory and administrative scheme utilized by the Defendants unconstitutionally disenfranchised them."

Oh cry me a river. FYI Restore America is asking that you pray for them. Get to it kids!

One of Basic Rights Oregon's attorney's, Mark Johnson, helped explain what it all means. (Thanks Just Out)

According to Johnson, "A temporary restraining order is an order a judge issues that freezes everything in place until the court can make a ruling. A preliminary injunction in this context would be a ruling that would stop the law from going into effect while the case is pending." He says these are common tactics in a case like this, where someone is trying to prevent something from happening.

The temporary restraining order is usually very temporary, and could just be a way for the judge to put things on hold while he decides whether or not to issue the permanent injunction, which could put the law on hold until the case is decided. Johnson explained that in order to get the preliminary injunction, the ADF would need to show that the plaintiffs would be "irreparably harmed" by the law going into effect and they have to show that they have a likelihood of winning the case.

Basic Rights Oregon has previously made a statement recently regarding the lawsuit:
Hummel said the lawsuit's chance's of success are slim to none. "On January 1st, same sex couples in committed, caring relationships will have the legal recognition they need to take care of each other," he said. "Nothing is going to prevent this law from going into effect."

Then came word from the Secretary of State's office:

"What it comes down to is there are statutes that govern how signatures on initiative petitions are verified and those statues were applied in exactly the same way as every other initiative petition that's delivered to this office. The law is applied fairly and neutrally across the board," says Scott Moore, chief of communications for the Secretary of State. "To bend the rules to allow for an exception in this case would be granting special privileges to a select group."

Labels: basic rights oregon, domestic partnership, lawsuit

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2007 at 1:20 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.