In Oregon, same-sex marriage ban leaves wedded couples in confusion

While 11 states passed constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage on Election Day, Oregon is the only state among them in which the government has approved same-sex marriage, albeit temporarily.

Some 2,960 gay couples tied the knot after Multnomah County momentarily flung open the door to same-sex marriage. A judge stopped the practice after six weeks, and the state has refused to acknowledge the marriages pending the outcome of a lawsuit on the constitutionality of banning same-sex marriage.

Still, some companies viewed the couples as legally married, extending benefits, such as insurance coverage, not previously available.

Before their wedding, Burke paid $200 a month out-of-pocket for her minimal insurance.

''With our marriage came a huge financial relief -- as well as huge emotional relief. I could actually sleep at night and know I'll be taken care of. That uncertainty has now crept back in," she said.

Kelly Clark, attorney for the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said many people who voted for Measure 36, the Oregon amendment to ban same-sex marriage, nonetheless feel strongly that gay couples should have an equal shot at the legal benefits of marriage.

''It's what I've felt from the beginning, and I have consistently said this to gay friends," Clark said. ''So what kind of alternatives can we craft? And whatever alternative mechanisms we find have to be fair."

The amendments in Oregon, Mississippi, and Montana do not ban civil unions, unlike the measures in eight other states that approved them Tuesday.

According to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, there are roughly 2 million people in those states who live in households headed by same-sex couples and could be harmed by the amendments, including state university employees whose domestic partnership benefits could be in jeopardy in Michigan, Ohio, and Utah.

Tim Nashif, political director of the Defense of Marriage Coalition, said gay-rights groups can lobby Legislatures to extend domestic partnership benefits without changing the institution of marriage.

He called Burke's family the exception.