Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed two landmark bills into law Wednesday that will not only advance gay rights in Oregon, but will have national impact as well.
Fifty-two percent of the U.S. population will live in jurisdictions protecting gay, lesbian and bisexual people – the first time the halfway mark has been passed – after Oregon’s anti-discrimination bill was signed by the governor.
“There’s really a surge in momentum of gains for new rights for the (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) community as well as rights for same-sex couples,” said Thalia Zepatos, director of organizing and training for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Oregon will join two other states – Iowa and Colorado- that have passed non-discrimination laws since Jan. 1, 2007, and the Vermont legislature recently amended its existing non-discrimination laws as well.
Not every state with protections for gay and lesbian people also afford those rights to transgender people, but 37 percent of the U.S. population will live in jurisdictions that will protect transgendered people after all four of the states’ laws go into effect.
“Our hope is simple. It is for the day when Oregon families will no longer be forced into uncertainty in times of crisis and when no Oregonian will be fired from their job, denied housing or denied an education, simply because of who they are or who they love. Today marks a moment in time when Oregonians proudly made hope a reality, and created a fairer, more equal Oregon,” said Basic Rights Oregon’s Executive Director John Hummel at the signing ceremony, according to a Basic Rights Oregon press release.
Senate Bill 2, the Oregon Equality Act, will outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in areas such as housing, public accommodation, public education, employment and public services.
Oregon residents and gay rights activists have been working for 34 years to pass a law making discrimination based on sexual orientation illegal. The new law will not apply to religious organizations, employers and institutions, as the bill was amended in the legislative process to exempt these groups.
Kulongoski signed House Bill 2007, the Oregon Family Fairness Act, in conjunction with Senate Bill 2, giving Oregon’s same-sex couples more than 500 rights, responsibilities and protections that are also granted to married couples and legally recognizes the couples and their families through domestic partnerships.
In 2000, Vermont became the first state to legally recognize same-sex couples and over the past seven years, 10 other states have passed similar legislation. The legal recognition gives the same-sex partners similar rights and responsibilities as those granted to married couples. With Oregon joining the list of states legalizing these unions, one-fifth of the U.S. population will live in states offering these rights and protections to same-sex couples.
Four states have deemed these same-sex relationships civil unions: Vermont (2000), Connecticut (2005), New Jersey (2006) and New Hampshire (2007). Four states and the District of Columbia list them as domestic partnerships: California (2005), Maine (2004), Washington (2007) and Oregon (2007). Hawaii recognizes reciprocal beneficiaries and Massachusetts is the only state in the U.S. to recognize same-sex marriage.
“Whenever the radical right attack LGBTQ people, they create an opportunity for us to have a conversation with voters in every state,” Zepatos said. “Once we engage in conversation with fair-minded people who really understand the facts, they don’t want to discriminate.”
These partnerships are not federally recognized, and are not the same as traditional marriages in that they are invalid in other states and lack more than 1,100 federal rights such as joint federal income tax returns and Social Security survivor benefits.
Oregon residents voted against legalizing marriages for same-sex couples in 2004 by passing Measure 36, which amended the Oregon constitution to limit marriage to the union between one man and one woman. The vote was the narrowest margin among the 13 states voting on anti-marriage measures that year – 57 percent to 43 percent.
“This pro-family bill will bolster family security, by providing critical protections in times of crisis,” Hummel said in the press release. “It is a tremendous step toward equality.”
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Gov. Kulongoski signs historic gay-rights legislation Wednesday
Daily Emerald
May 9, 2007
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