Gay marriage opponents turn in signatures
They collect a record number of signatures on a petition for a ballot measure banning same-sex marriage in Oregon
PETER WONG
Statesman Journal


Advocates submitted more than 244,000 petition signatures today on behalf of a state constitutional ban on marriage by same-sex couples.

An official said the total submitted to the Oregon Elections Division is the the most ever for a single ballot measure. To qualify for the Nov. 2 general election, it will require 100,840 valid signatures.

The Defense of Marriage Coalition submitted the signatures two days in advance of Friday's deadline for initiative petitions. Signatures for up to a half-dozen more may be filed in the next two days.

The measure would define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, and could make invalid the 3,022 licenses that Multnomah County issued to same-sex couples between March 3 and April 20. Those licenses are on hold while a challenge to Oregon's 1862 marriage law is pending in the Court of Appeals.