A gay Oregon couple’s lawsuit claiming that a photograph from their wedding day was used illegally in advertising by a conservative senior citizens’ organization has been thrown out by a federal judge in the capital.

In an 18-page ruling issued Friday, Judge Reggie Walton said the group, United Seniors Association, did not violate the law by failing to seek the permission of the Portland men, Richard Raymen and Steven Hansen, before using a photo of them in an Internet ad attacking the American Association of Retired Persons.

The disputed ad, which ran in February 2005 on the Web site of a conservative magazine, the American Spectator, contains the words “The REAL AARP Agenda.” One side of the ad shows an American soldier in uniform with a red “X” superimposed on him. The other side depicts Messrs. Raymen and Hansen kissing with a green check mark over their picture.

The ad apparently was intended to call attention to a decision in 2004 by the Ohio branch of the AARP to oppose a ballot measure amending the state constitution to ban same-sex marriage as well as marriage-like privileges for gay couples. The measure passed with 62% of the vote.

The import of the military-related imagery is unclear. A spokesman for United Seniors did not return a call yesterday seeking comment on the ruling.

Judge Walton said the actions of United Seniors and one of its ad consultants named in the suit, Mark Montini, may not have been laudable, but were not illegal under the Oregon laws that applied to the case. “While the defendants’ unauthorized use of the plaintiffs’ photograph cannot be considered the pinnacle of decency and good taste, this court cannot conclude that it violated Oregon civil law,” the judge wrote.

Judge Walton rejected the gay couple’s claims that the ad libeled them by suggesting they did not support the military. “Facially, nothing in the advertisement suggests, as the plaintiffs posit, that they are unpatriotic American citizens,” the judge wrote. He said because the ad addressed issues of public concern, Messrs. Raymen and Hansen could not prevent the use of their likenesses.

The judge’s ruling Friday essentially reversed a temporary restraining order he issued in March 2005 barring United Seniors from using the image of the men.

The ad was part of a campaign United Seniors launched last winter to criticize AARP for its opposition to President Bush’s Social Security reform plan.