Ninth Circuit Issues Opinion: Lemons Can Suck It

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has issued its opinion in Lemons v. Bradbury, a case that sought to revive last year's failed referendum on Oregon's domestic partnership law. And it's a big win for Oregon's domestic partners.

The court earlier this year fast-tracked the lawsuit, brought by those who would like to see our state deny domestic partnerships to same-sex couples.

In a nutshell, they affirmed a lower court's ruling that the rights of the plaintiffs weren't violated when their signatures were dismissed.

It's great news for more than 2,500 domestically partnered Oregon couples (including me and Juan) and means that we won't have to vote on this issue come November.

According to Karynn Fish, spokesperson for Basic Rights Oregon, there is a footnote to today's ruling. "If the state had been forced to look at every single signature, the plaintiffs would have fallen short by an even wider margin," said Fish via phone from Eastern Oregon. "The process is weighted toward accepting signatures, not denying them."

Democracy...it's a good thing.