Archives West Finding Aid

Beginning March 3, 2004, Multnomah County, Oregon (which includes the city of Portland) began to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. County Chair Diane Linn made the decision after concluding that state marriage law violated the Oregon Constitution's guarantee of equal treatment. Leading up to this decision were meetings between the four Multnomah County commissioners who approved the decision (Maria Rojo de Steffey, Serena Cruz, Lisa Naito and Chair Diane Linn); the gay advocacy group, Basic Rights Oregon; and the American Civil Liberties Union. The decision was based on the legal opinion of the County counsel, Agnes Sowle, that refusing marriage to same-sex couples violates the following equal protection provision in the Oregon Constitution: “…no law shall be passed granting to any citizen or class of citizens privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens.” The State of Oregon law also did not specify that marriage must be a union between a man and a woman, providing additional support for the County’s interpretation. Oregon was one of only twelve states that did not ban same-sex marriages outright.

This became a historic and controversial decision both locally and nationally and was seen as a part of the larger national debate regarding gay marriage. The previous month, in February 2004, San Francisco had begun allowing gay marriages. Multnomah County became the second large urban area, after San Francisco, to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. The County was criticized for excluding a fifth County commissioner, Lonnie Roberts, an opponent, from the discussions surrounding the decision. Despite the controversy, more than 3,000 same-sex couples from around the country flocked to the Mutnomah County Administration Building in Portland, Oregon to legalize their partnerships.

Immediately following the decision, opponents of same-sex marriage began to draft a lawsuit to halt the issuance of licenses. They started to gather support for Measure 36, a constitutional amendment limiting the definition of marriage to the union between a man and a woman. Oregon's Governor Ted Kulongoski ordered the state not to recognize the marriages, which prompted a lawsuit by Basic Rights Oregon and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon. On April 20, 2004, the County was ordered by a judge to discontinue the issuance of licenses to same-sex couples and a year later, in April 2005, the Oregon Supreme Court voided the licenses previously issued between those five weeks. The Court unanimously ruled that Multnomah County had no authority to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

In November 2004, Oregon voters approved Measure 36, which prohibited the legal marriage of same-sex couples. Following the decision, proponents of same-sex marriage continued to fight for the rights briefly issued to same-sex couples by Multnomah County in March 2004. As of July 2007, legislation surrounding the issue continues to remain in favor of the opponents to same-sex marriage; however, the fight to nationally reinstate the decision made by the County continues.

The 2004 Wedding Album Project was initiated by member of the Multnomah County Board of Supervisors in 2005 in commemoration of the one-year anniversary of the historic moment when 3022 same-sex couples from around the country received marriage licenses in the city of Portland, Oregon. The County sent a notice to all of the couples to whom they issued marriage licenses between those five weeks explaining the purpose of the project. The invitation requested that couples contribute photographs, written memories or other materials relating to their marriages. The County arranged for volunteers to collect the records and display them in the lobby of the Multnomah Building for the month of March, 2005. The letter also stated that, following the exhibit, the materials would be donated to the Oregon Historical Society and made available for research. The County collected materials from 260 of the nearly 3,000 same-sex couples who received marriage certificates from Multnomah County.

By the time the materials for the Wedding Album Project were collected in March 2005, the marriage certificates had been voided by the State of Oregon. Yet despite the disappointment of the Album contributors, many of them praised the marriages and the county's controversial decision as having had a positive impact on their lives. For many of the couples, the decision to allow same-sex marriages -- if even for a brief five-week period -- represented the County’s recognition and acceptance of the lives they had established for themselves. Many of the couples, traveling from as far away as New York, had been together for decades, while others for only a few years. The materials in the albums document not only these marriages, but also the stories of relationships and the personal struggles survived in the face of opposition and disapproval.