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Your Guide To The Legal Battle Over Same Sex Marriage In Idaho
Amber and Rachael filed their lawsuit against Idaho in Nov. 2013. They were married Oct. 15, 2014.In November 2013, eight women -- four couples -- sued the state of Idaho over its 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.The plaintiffs, Susan Latta and Traci Ehlers, Lori Watsen and Sharene Watsen, Shelia Robertson and Andrea Altmayer, and Amber Beierle and Rachael Robertson, say Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage violates equal protection and due process guarantees.Two of the couples have been legally married in other states and two have tried to get Idaho marriage licenses and been denied.Their case went to U.S. Magistrate Judge Candy Dale in May 2014. On May 13, eight days after Dale heard the case, she struck down Idaho's same-sex marriage ban.Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden appealed that ruling in an effort to uphold Idaho's Constitution as approved by voters in 2006.On Oct. 7, 2014, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Dale's ruling, striking down Idaho's ban on same-sex marriage. After more than a week of legal challenges, same-sex marriages began Oct. 15, 2014 in Idaho.

Gay Rights Advocates Gear Up To Fight Potential Ballot Measure

NWNews | By Chris Lehman,
Chris Lehman
Published May 2, 2014 at 5:53 PM MDT

Gay rights advocates are waiting for a ruling from a federal judge on whether same-sex couples can get married in Oregon.

Those same advocates are also launching a campaign to defeat a potential ballot measure they say would discriminate against gay couples planning a wedding.

The group Oregonians United for Marriage is fired up about the measure. It would allow businesses and individuals to refuse to participate in or provide services for same-sex weddings. That could include people like musicians, bakers or florists.

The gay-rights group says it will devote part of its efforts to defeating this initiative. The group is running ads that compare the measure to Jim Crow laws in the old south.

The voice in one ad says, "We cannot allow businesses to discriminate against anyone. That would include gay and lesbian people who want to get married."

The measure is backed by Friends for Religious Freedom. Its attorney dismissed the ads. Shawn Lindsay says the point of the measure is to protect people with religious objections to gay marriage.

The measure isn’t on the ballot yet. The group has less than two months to collect enough signatures to qualify.

Copyright 2021 Northwest News Network. To see more, visit Northwest News Network.

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Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
See stories by Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman
Chris Lehman graduated from Temple University with a journalism degree in 1997. He landed his first job less than a month later, producing arts stories for Red River Public Radio in Shreveport, Louisiana. Three years later he headed north to DeKalb, Illinois, where he worked as a reporter and announcer for NPR–affiliate WNIJ–FM. In 2006 he headed west to become the Salem Correspondent for the Northwest News Network.
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