So, Oregon is doing something really strange with regard to gay marriage.

As we all know, last November, the state's people passed by 57-43% a constitutional amendment declaring marriage to be for men and women only.

What complicates everything, however, is that last summer, the state's Supreme Court took up a case to determine whether marriage licenses granted to gays in Spring 2004 were constitutional. So effectively, mid-way through a lengthy court case, the law changed!

But that's not all!

Oregon nevertheless possesses a number of laws providing for equal rights and equal protections and blablabla. So while the case in question -- Li vs. State of Oregon -- is rendered moot by the Marriage Amendment, it is however, still viable under other state laws.

The end result is that when the State Supreme Court issues their ruling tomorrow, any number of screwy, strange events can happen.

Among them:

Gay marriages before the amendment stand, Civil Unions ordered
Gay marriages struck down, Civil Unions ordered
No Civil Unions, no gay marriage
The case is sent back to lower court; gay marriages stand
The case is sent back, no gay marriages

Oh, but wait. It gets better. Much better.

The other possible solution is that the Oregon Supreme Court could strike down the marriage statute — and the institution of marriage — altogether. Then no one would be the beneficiary of this privilege and true equality could be achieved. This solution is not merely the crazy idea of an academic. In Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, the Massachusetts Supreme Court founds that the Massachusetts marriage law violated "the basic premises of individual liberty and equality under law protected by the Massachusetts constitution." The court considered doing away with marriage altogether, but rejected that option in favor of extending marriage to same-sex couples. That solution was the most consistent with Massachusetts social policy. As the court stated, "Eliminating civil marriage would be wholly inconsistent with the Legislature’s deep commitment to fostering stable families and would dismantle a vital organizing principle of our society." But we in Oregon have made it impossible for our courts to extend marriage to same-sex couples.