By ABE ESTIMADA / kgw.com

Following the lead of San Francisco and the state of Massachusetts, Multnomah County in Oregon will begin issuing gay marriage licenses on Wednesday morning.

Tai Jungcker, left, and Kathy Belge pose with their marriage certificate after a news conference for Basic Rights Oregon in Portland. (AP Photo)

Multnomah County Judge Linda Bergman told KGW on Tuesday night that she will schedule and perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples if they have a license when they make an appointment.

Law enforcement is gearing up for the expected crush of people who will be applying for gay marriage licenses from Multnomah County on Wednesday morning, said Portland police.

Sources told KGW that Multmomah County is working on a legal interpretation on the gay marriage licenses. Multnomah County officials did not immediately return a kgw.com reporter’s phone call on Tuesday afternoon for comment on the decision.

Meanwhile, the Oregon governor’s office is declining comment until it can independently confirm outside of media reports that the county is in fact issuing such licenses, said spokesperson Mary Ellen Glynn.

Word of the Multnomah County gay marriage licenses comes about a week after President Bush announced that he would back a constitutional amendment banning such unions.

Basic Rights Oregon, which supports gay unions, said last week during a news conference that gay marriage is another step in the long march toward civil rights. But some Oregon pastors say state law is clear that marriage is a union between a man and a woman.