“Bring me the bills and I will sign them,” Governor Ted Kulongoski said earlier this year, while waiving his pen in the air.
His request was granted Wednesday afternoon when the Senate passed House Bill 2007, The Oregon Family Fairness Act, making it the second of two bills to pass through the legislature and advance gay and lesbian rights in Oregon. Senate Bill 2, The Oregon Equality Act, passed through the Senate on April 19.
“Today is, without question, a monumental day for not only Oregon, but for our nation. Oregonians know too well the value of being able to protect our families – and this bill directly reflects that deeply held pro-family belief,” Basic Rights Oregon’s Interim Executive Director Aisling Coghlan said in a press release from Basic Rights Oregon.
House Bill 2007 grants same-sex couples more than 500 protections, rights and responsibilities similar to those available to married couples. Domestic partners will have the right to make health care decisions for their partner, file joint state tax returns and obtain coverage under a partner’s health benefit plan. Basic Rights Oregon has prepared a list of “the top 100” protections and responsibilities, which can be found at www.basicrights.org/comm_misc/Top_100_rights.pdf.
The passing of Senate Bill 2 was the culmination of a 34-year-long effort to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, public accommodation and public education would be considered civil offenses according to the bill.
“There was a great sense of relief for the citizens that have suffered past injustices and a great sense of satisfaction in knowing that Oregon is a better place now than it was before this effort succeeded,” Senator Brad Avakian, D-NE Washington and NW Multnomah Counties, said in an e-mail.
A domestic partnership, although similar in some rights and protections, is not the same as a marriage. The partnership does not grant any of the 1,100 federal rights afforded to married couples, and the state protections are not recognized outside of Oregon. The union is a civil contract and therefore does not violate Oregon’s State Constitution that defines marriage as existing between one man and one woman.
House Bill 2007 passed with a 21-9 vote while Senate Bill 2 passed with a 21-7 vote. Both bills will head to the governor for his signature, officially making them law in Oregon. The signing is scheduled to take place at the State Capitol in Salem late next week.
“Today thousands of Oregon families are one step closer to being able to access essential rights and responsibilities,” Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown said in the same press release from Basic Rights Oregon. “Domestic Partnership offers same-sex couples and their families the protections that every Oregon family needs and deserves. For that I am very proud.”
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