Gay rights groups are hailing the decision of a second Oregon county to begin issuing same-sex marriage licenses and say they expect other counties to follow suit.

Benton County Commissioner Linda Modrell said she expects a lawsuit to stop the marriages. Opponents denounced Tuesday's decision minutes after it was announced.

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The city of Corvallis and Oregon State University are in Benton County.

The county's Web site still talked about a "bride and groom" applying for a marriage license on Wednesday morning.

The Defense of Marriage Coalition, which has already filed a suit against Multnomah County, which includes Portland, Ore., said Benton County commissioners are using the sacred institution of marriage as a political tool.

The coalition has also begun an initiative to amend the Oregon Constitution. They will need to gather 100,000 signatures by July 2 to put the proposed amendment on the November ballot.

Roey Thorpe, the executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, said "real leaders are stepping forward."

In the last few weeks since it began offering marriage licenses to homosexual couples, Multnomah County has issued 2,400 licenses; it usually issues about 3,300 in a year.

Monday, a county board decided it will keep issuing licenses.

A spokesman for state Attorney General Hardy Myers said the state would immediately review the county's decision. Spokesman Kevin Neely said the goal is to get a final resolution from the courts on the issue as quickly as possible.

But he said the state must consider whether it can take any action to block issuance of the marriage licenses. Myers determined last week the practice is illegal under state law, but he has predicted state courts would likely strike down any ban on gay marriage as unconstitutional.