Oregon Democrats propose constitutional amendment on abortion, same-sex marriage,...

Democrats in the Legislature want to ask Oregon voters to write the right to abortion, same-sex marriage and gender-affirming care into the state’s Constitution.

Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Beaverton, introduced a joint resolution in the state Senate Wednesday to refer to voters a proposed constitutional amendment. The legislative referral would appear on ballots in November 2024.

The amendment would also repeal language that’s been in Oregon’s Constitution since 2004 defining marriage as being between one man and one woman (Article XV, Section 5a).

That policy hasn’t been in effect since a federal judge in 2014 ruled it unconstitutional — a decision upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2015, which required states to recognize same-sex marriages.