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Law

Oregon Judge Denies Motion To Intervene In Gay Marriage Case

Chris Lehman
Plaintiffs gathered outside the courthouse to celebrate the denial of the motion to intervene.

A federal judge in Eugene, Oregon has denied a national group's attempt to defend Oregon's ban on same-sex marriage. U.S. District Judge Michael McShane said the National Organization of Marriage failed to prove why it should be allowed to intervene in the case.

The ruling came immediately following a hearing Wednesday morning. The judge did not indicate when he would rule on the underlying merits of the case.

Four Oregon same-sex couples sued to overturn the 2004 voter-approved law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman. Gay rights advocates said today's ruling gives them hope.

An attorney for the National Organization For Marriage says his group plans to appeal the judge's denial of the motion to intervene.

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.