Oregon May Be Next to Legalize Marriage Through Voters

After three successful attempts to legalize marriage by the ballot box and another success in preventing a Minnesota constitutional ban on same-sex couples marrying, Oregon may be the next state to ask voters to approve a ballot measure to establish marriage equality.

Organizers are looking for the midterm election year, 2014, as the goal date for legalizing marriage equality through a ballot initiative. Currently the state offers domestic-partnership rights to gay couples, but voters also approved a ballot initiative to constitutionally ban same-sex marriage in 2004.

Basic Rights Oregon's Jeana Frazzini told the Religion New Service this week that Washington, Maine, and Maryland have set the stage for other progressive states to leave the decision up to voters.

"I am more confident than ever that we will be the first state to overturn a constitutional ban on marriage," she said.

There was speculation that Basic Rights Oregon would put marriage up to a vote in 2012, but it was later discovered that the organization was planning to wait until 2014 to make such a decision.