In yet another startling development in the same-sex marriage drama being played out in Oregon, officials in Roosevelt County announced last night that that tiny eastern Oregon county is suspending indefinitely the issuance of marriage licenses to prospective spouses of different genders. Until further notice, the county will issue licenses only to same-sex couples.

"We held a public meeting on this at the Springfield Grange Hall last night," explained County Chair Vern Farr. "And we decided that the time was right for some affirmative action. The heterosexuals have had a couple of millennia to get ahead on this, and so we want to give the gay couples a chance to catch up. Also, it was hot in there, and we all wanted to get to the other agenda items, like the tractor pull."

The Roosevelt County action now divides Oregon counties into four camps: the majority, which license marriage only between heterosexuals; Multnomah County, which licenses marriages between heterosexuals and homosexuals; Benton County, which has suspended issuing any marriage licenses at all; and now Roosevelt County, which licenses only same-sex marriages.

The latest resolution sets no time limit on the new Roosevelt County policy. "We'll probably revisit this again after all the vetch is in the barn," Farr predicted. "Definitely by hunting season."

The vote on the controversial measure was 2-1, with Commissioner George Hutchinson casting the dissenting vote. "I don't think there's really a problem here that needs to be remedied," he told a reporter from the cab of his flatbed truck. "Occasionally, we do get somebody trying to marry their cousin."