PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – Oregon has become the first state in the nation where a judge has recognized same-sex marriage. But state legislators, the state Supreme Court or voters will have to decide whether the practice can extend beyond the county where same-sex couples have tied the knot.

On April 20, Multnomah County Circuit Judge Frank Bearden issued a ruling that was seen as both a victory and a disappointment by same-sex couples.

Bearden ordered the state to recognize the 3,022 marriage licenses that Multnomah County has issued to gay and lesbian couples since March 3.

At the same time, he ordered the county to stop issuing any new same-sex marriage licenses and asked the Legislature to craft a law that settles the dispute – perhaps one allowing Vermont-style civil unions for gay and lesbian couples.

The judge gave the Oregon Legislature 90 days from the start of its next session to come up with a new law. If that doesn’t happen, Multnomah County can resume issuing marriage licenses to gays and lesbians.

But so far Oregon lawmakers can’t agree on whether to take up the same-sex marriage issue when they meet in special session in June to discuss tax reform – or whether same-sex marriage should be legal.

Senate President Peter Courtney said he fears that adding a debate over same-sex marriage will result in a long political stalemate this summer because there is no consensus on the issue.

The Salem Democrat, who supports civil unions, said same-sex marriage deserves “quiet, thorough deliberations.”

“I don’t think you can do that in a quickie special session,” Courtney said.

House Speaker Karen Minnis, who opposes same-sex marriage, said lawmakers should meet in June to place a same-sex marriage ban on the statewide ballot if an initiative campaign falls short.

“The best solution would be to amend the state constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman – the definition of marriage that Oregonians have known for generations,” the Wood Village Republican said.

Whatever the definition of marriage, gays and lesbians must be allowed to share the “tangible benefits” that marriage provides or any law excluding same-sex marriage risks being declared unconstitutional, Bearden said.

“The central issue in this case is one involving access to the benefits of marriage without the necessity of changing the nature of what constitutes a ‘traditional marriage,’” Bearden wrote in his 16-page opinion.

Ultimately, Bearden said, a state Supreme Court ruling “is needed for legal finality, and public debate and legislative action may be required to carry out the court’s mandate.”

His ruling effectively ends same-sex marriage nationally until May 17, when Massachusetts is expected to begin approving same-sex marriage license applications following a ruling by its Supreme Judicial Court.

Dave Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Oregon, said he “respectfully disagrees” with the judge’s recommendation that the Legislature fashion a civil union law but praised Bearden’s recognition of existing same-sex marriages.

“We believe that Judge Bearden’s decision today is truly historic,” Fidanque said after the ruling. “This is the first time that a court has ordered a state to recognize same-sex marriages.”

The ACLU, representing nine gay and lesbian couples, joined Multnomah County in a lawsuit against the state and a group called the Defense of Marriage Coalition to challenge an Oregon marriage law dating back to territorial days.

The state’s marriage law defines marriage as a “civil contract entered into in person by males at least 17 years of age and females at least 17 years of age.”

Kelly Clark, the attorney for the coalition, welcomed Bearden’s ruling because it shifts responsibility for defining marriage from the courts to the Legislature.

The judge, he said, is “saying some of the very same things we’ve said from the beginning – let’s have a reasoned, dignified public debate about these issues.”

Clark has criticized Multnomah County Chairperson Diane Linn for ordering the county to approve same-sex marriage license applications, charging that she sidestepped the Legislature or any public debate on a tradition that dates back as far as civilization.

Bearden’s order to halt same-sex marriage license applications upset some couples who had gone to the county clerk’s office.

Katharine Sprecher and Nitzye Gonzalez were sitting in a corner of the office, wiping away each other’s tears.

“I was a little shell-shocked, I was expecting this day to turn out very different,” Sprecher said.