Newspapers / Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.) / April 24, 2004, edition 1 / Page 26
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i 26 National Q-NOTES • APRIL 24.2004 4000 S. 1-85 Service Rd. • Charlotte, NC 704394.1712 www.woodshedlounge.com EVENTS: Wednesday Pool Tournament $2.00 Domestic Beers First Saturday Fetish Night Third Friday Country Night • Best Beer Selection • Best Juke Box • Best Country Music as named in The Charlotte Observer's annual Best of Charlotte! SPECIALS: Monday $5 All You Can Drink Beer Tuesday $3 Call Liquors, $2 Beer Wednesday Pool Tournament • No Entry Fee • $50 to the Winner Thursday $1 Domestic Beer Friday $2 Smirnoff Ice, $3.00 Malibu Rum Saturday $2.00 Corona, $3.00 Jim Beam Sunday $2 House Drinks • Free Buffet at 6:30 pm HOURS: 5 pm - 2 am - Six Days a Week • Sunday - 3 pm - 2 am Patio Bar Open Friday, Saturday & Sunday! Sunday Buffet at 6:30 pm Oregon county bans all marriages District Judge must make a ruling before straight or gay couples can wed by Teresa Carson and Zelie Pollon PORTLAND, Ore. — In a new twist in the battle over same-sex marriage in the United States, a county in Oregon has banned all marriages — same and opposite — until the state decides who can and who cannot wed. The last marriage licenses were handed out in Benton County at 4 p.m. on Mar. 22. As of Mar. 23. officials In the county of 79,000 people began telling couples applying for licenses to go elsewhere until the gay mar riage debate is settled. “It may seem odd,” Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell said in a telephone interview, but “we need to treat everyone in our county equally.” State Attorney General Hardy Myers said in a statement that he was “very pleased” with Benton County’s decision. “It is my sincere hope that [the] legal process will provide clarity for each of Oregon’s counties.” Three county commissioners had orig inally decided to start handing out gay marriage licenses but reversed that deci sion amid a growing firestorm of lawsuits across the country and decided instead to put a temporary halt to all marriages. Rebekah Kassell, a spokeswoman for Basic Rights Oregon, a pro-gay marriage group, told Reuters; “ft is certainly a differ ent way for county commissioners to respect their constitutional obligation to apply the law equally to everyone. “We appreciate that they are willing to say they are not going to participate in discrimination.” Tim Nashif, the spokesman for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said; “Oregon not only has the only county in the nation issuing illegal (same-sex) mar riage licenses, we probably have the only county in the nation refusing to issue mar riage licenses at all. No weddings of any sort will be allowed in Portland until a judge rules. “We are happy Benton County is not going to violate the law by issuing illegal marriage licenses, but we are perplexed as to why they would not issue legal licens es,” he added. Benton County, whose county seat is Corvallis, is home to Oregon State University and is seen as a bastion of liberalism. Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would file a lawsuit against Oregon or an unnamed state enti ty over the state’s failure to register the more than 2,550 marriage licenses issued by Portland’s Multnomah County to gay couples since March 3. Multnomah County, the state’s most populous, is the only jurisdiction in the United States that continues to issue same-sex marriage licenses. Local govern ments from San Francisco to New Paltz, N.Y., have halted the practice amid law suits. and protests. In New Mexico, a judge issued a tem porary restraining order to stop a Sandoval County clerk from issuing more marriage certificates to gay and lesbian couples. Victoria Dunlap, the clerk for the coun ty to the southwest of Santa Fe, issued 66 marriage licenses to gay and lesbian cou ples on Feb. 20 before the state’s attorney general issued a statement declaring the marriages invalid. The temporary injunction will be in effect until a state district judge can hear the case on the subject. Being gey isn’t criminaii Christopher A. Connelly.. Brim-; e'Qlc • DWI ♦ Drug Offenses ♦ Traffic Offenses ♦ Revoked Licenses Bond Hearings ♦ Domestic Violence ♦ Federal &. State Courts H H"': 101 North McDowell Street, Suite 104 (Neat Courthouse-& Jail) GWU ftfr immediate Appeidtmwttt • Se HMttia Eepeindl
Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 24, 2004, edition 1
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