Oregon's Gay Couples Win Marriage-Style Benefits
Domestic-Partners Bill Clears Senate, Goes to Governor
Statesman Journal
Oregon will become the seventh state to grant same-sex couples full marriage-style benefits allowed by state law, after the Oregon Senate approved a landmark "domestic partnerships" bill Wednesday.
Senators voted 21-9 to approve House Bill 2007-A, with two Republicans joining all of the chamber's Democrats and one independent in support. Gov. Ted Kulongoski vows to sign the bill into law.
Passage of HB 2007-A, coupled with earlier approval of a bill banning discrimination based on sexual orientation, marks a dramatic turnaround for gay rights in Oregon. It comes 2 1/2 years after Oregonians banned gay marriage at the ballot box when they passed Measure 36.
"It means that I'm no longer a second-class citizen in my own state," said Melanie Altaras, a senior at West Salem High School. "I have the opportunity to be recognized under the law with someone at some point in the future."
Gay-rights supporters still expect that conservative Christians will try to place one or both measures as a referendum on the November 2008 ballot. Opponents have three months after the 2007 legislative session closes to gather 55,179 signatures.
However, the Oregon Family Council, an evangelical Christian group that spearheaded the Measure 36 campaign, announced that it won't put either measure on the ballot.
"Right now, we're not planning on running a referendum," said Nick Graham, a spokesman for the Oregon Family Council.
Legislative leaders obliged the group by granting an exemption for religious organizations, so faith-based groups won't be forced to hire or serve gays and lesbians. The group also was pleased that the Legislature didn't tamper with marriage laws and instead added new legal language creating domestic partnerships, Graham said.
During the Ballot Measure 36 fight, Graham recalled, Oregon Family Council leaders said they would rather see the issue debated before the Legislature. That's what occurred this year, Graham said, although he said the group doesn't like the resulting bills.
After the 2004 upheaval in Oregon, when Multnomah and Benton counties briefly legalized gay marriage and voters banned the practice with the passage of Measure 36, Wednesday's debate seemed anticlimactic.
It was over in little more than a half-hour, and only one lawmaker spoke against the bill. Sen. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla, complained that the bill failed to list all the statutes that will be amended to give same-sex couples new benefits.
Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, who is married but describes herself as bisexual, called the bill's passage a "giant step forward for gay and lesbian citizens in Oregon."
Sen. Frank Morse, R-Corvallis, who supported the bill, said Oregon must find a way to treat all citizens with dignity and respect, regardless of sexual orientation.
"Our task today is to find how big is Oregon's heart," Morse said.
Beginning Jan. 1, 2008, same-sex couples will be able to go to their county courthouse and enter into a legally binding contract that grants them rights and responsibilities. The benefits include nearly all those accorded to married couples under state law, covering the rights to jointly file state taxes, child custody, hospital visitation and inheritance rights, among others.
Oregon and other states with comparable statutes cannot offer marriage benefits to same-sex couples that derive from federal law, such as jointly filing federal taxes, Social Security and other benefits.
Some gay-rights advocates have complained about use of the term "domestic partnerships" rather than "civil unions." However, the bill grants same-sex couples a similar panoply of rights offered by other states, whether the term is gay marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships.
At a celebration after Wednesday's vote, Rep. Tina Kotek, D-Portland, the lone openly homosexual member of the Oregon Legislature, welcomed the news that Oregon Family Council won't seek a referendum. "Now we can just get on with our lives," she said.
For all information related to this article please see:
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/LEGISLATURE/705030318/1042/STATE
and/or call slaw@StatesmanJournal.com or (503) 399-6615
