Gov. Ted Kulongoski is expected to sign two bills into law today that advance gay rights in Oregon.
Senate Bill 2, the Oregon Equality Act, and House Bill 2007, the Oregon Family Fairness Act, have traveled together through the legislature during the past month and will arrive at the Capitol in Salem today.
The signing ceremony will commence at 9:30 a.m. on the west steps of the Capitol. After the initial speeches, the governor is expected to sign both bills by 10 a.m. as he will be joined by former Gov. Barbara Roberts, Oregon’s first woman governor, Speaker Jeff Merkley and members of the Governor’s Task Force on Equality.
House Bill 2007 will create a new statute in Oregon law that legally recognizes same-sex couples as domestic partnerships once it is signed by the governor. The bill will imbue domestic partnerships with more than 500 of the same rights and responsibilities afforded to marriages.
Senate Bill 2 is an anti-discrimination bill that will prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. Discrimination in employment, public accommodation and housing will be a punishable civil offense.
After the expected singing the human rights group Basic Rights Oregon, will have a celebration party at the gazebo on the West Lawn of the Capitol Building.
Basic Rights Oregon Executive Director Aisling Coghlan said, “House Bill 2007 is not simply another piece of legislation, but a moral call that both the Senate and House have strongly answered and the governor has pledged to meet.”
The bills will go into effect Jan. 1, 2008 if the governor signs them as promised.
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