Two Prominent Alums Debate Gay Marriage Issue

In early March, Multnomah County, which is home to Portland, began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. More than 3,000 gay and lesbian couples rushed to get married in the county as a result.

In April, a Multnomah County circuit court judge stopped the issuance of marriage licenses for same-sex couples, but ruled that Oregon’s current marriage law violates the state constitution. In a response to this ruling, a variety of efforts, including a November ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage, are currently in play.

These events thrust Oregon into the national spotlight—along with two Lewis & Clark alums: Serena Cruz ’89 and Kelly Clark ’80, J.D. ’83. Cruz is a Multnomah County commissioner. She holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and a law degree from the University of California at Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law. Clark is lead counsel for the Defense of Marriage Coalition. A graduate of the undergraduate college and the law school, he is a partner in the Portland law firm of O’Donnell & Clark. Both share their thoughts on the gay marriage issue with the Lewis & Clark Chronicle.