An Oregon county has taken drastic action in the debate over the legality of gay marriages, a debate that has caught fire in states all over the country.

Since March 24, Benton County, which would have been the second county in Oregon to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, has postponed giving out marriage licenses to both hetero- and homosexual partners until a decision is made concerning the legality of the practice.

The county had planned to begin issuing marriage licenses to gay couples March 22, but was asked by state Attorney General Hardy Meyers to postpone taking any action.

"The attorney general … did threaten us with legal action if we proceeded to issue the licenses," said Benton County Board of Commissioners chair Jay Dixon.

Benton County's decision leaves Multnomah County, also in Oregon, as the only place in Oregon where gay marriage licenses can be obtained.

While giving out marriage licenses has stopped for all couples, Dixon said, marriages themselves have not been outlawed.

"We are only concerned with the issuance of licenses," he said.

"Couples may still seek ministers or other authorized persons to perform marriages," said board vice-chair Annabelle Jaramillo. "The county does not intervene."

Benton and Multnomah counties' decisions to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses stemmed from their interpretation of statute ORS 106.010, which does not specify that marriage must be between one man and one woman.

Another statute, however, makes the distinction that marriage must be between a man and a woman. Combining these two, according to Meyer's spokesman Kevin Neely, "it is crystal-clear that marriage is between a man and a woman."

Multnomah County, however, is still issuing licenses to homosexual and heterosexual couples.

However, "we will continue (to issue same-sex marriage licenses) until if and when the (Oregon) Supreme Court decides" the statute is constitutional, said Becca Uherbelau, communication director for Multnomah County chair Diane Linn.

The county's attorney found the statute was unconstitutional according to the state constitution and that it was thus "unconstitutional not to allow" same-sex marriages, Uherbelau said. The county also was in danger of being sued by a couple for denying them a marriage license.

According to the attorney general's office, though, Multnomah County's issuing of marriage licenses to gay couples is in violation of state law, Neely said.

The only reason Multnomah County is still issuing same-sex marriage licenses, Neely said, is because the county began giving them out without notifying state officials. Benton County "alerted our office to the action they would be taking, so we were better prepared to take immediate action," he said.

As of March 26, Uherbelau said, the county had issued 2,746 licenses to same-sex couples and 271 to heterosexual couples.

A decision is expected from a Multnomah County circuit court judge by April 23, though the ruling will then be appealed to the Supreme Court, Jaramillo said.

Oregon is one of 10 states that don't have laws banning same-sex marriages. Currently, 35 states have laws banning same-sex marriages and five have either legalized same-sex civil unions or provide state or district registries for same-sex couples.

Massachusetts recently passed a law that would make gay marriage legal in the Bay State. The law will go into effect May 17 and is the first law in the country to make gay marriage legal.