Q-Seattle Events: Tacky Tourist Clubs

The Oregon Legislature passed a civil unions domestic partnership law this week that would grant to same-sex couples in the state virtually all of the state-granted benefits of marriage. The name was a subject of some controversy in the state (more on that later), but passage of the bill was greeted with warm fuzzies at the statehouse in Salem.

Advocates on the Senate floor cast HB 2007 in grand terms. Sen. Vicki Walker, D-Eugene, called the bill's passage "of historic significance as we make a giant leap forward for fairness."

Sen. Frank Morse of Albany, one of two Republicans to back the bill, said the day's vote would "define the heart of Oregon." Sen. Ben Westlund, D-Bend, said the Legislature's willingness to extend domestic partnership benefits represented a measure of its political will and courage. [Register-Guard]

Aisling Coghlan, interim executive director of Basic Rights Oregon (BRO) -- the activist group that served as primary lobbyist for the legislation, called the final legislative vote "a moral call that both the Senate and House have strongly answered and the Governor has pledged to meet."

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 applauds the Senators who voted in favor of basic fairness for all Oregon families, a value very much in step with the majority of Oregonians.

Oregon's law appears to deserve the strong words because, whatever its name, it appears to be indistinguishable from what are called civil unions in Vermont, other New England states, and New Jersey. It comes closer than either Washington's or California's limited domestic partnership laws to granting same-sex couples the full state-granted rights and obligations of marriage. (Like every other such law and even like marriages in Massachusetts, it cannot grant the many federal benefits of marriage to same-sex couples.)

The Oregonian explained the bill in a Q&A sidebar:

Q: What's a domestic partnership?
A: Domestic partnership, under the new Oregon law, is a legal contract recognizing the union of gay and lesbian couples. It grants them any "privilege, immunity, right or benefit" given to married couples in Oregon.
Q: How does a domestic partnership differ from a civil union?
A: There's no legal difference. Some states have chosen to call the same-sex contract a civil union; others, a domestic partnership.

Oregon couples would apply for a partnership certificate at a county clerk's office -- the same place marriage licenses are dispensed. (In contrast, Washington's DP certificates will be dispensed through the secretary of state's office and not through county courthouses.)

Adopting the name "domestic partnership" rather than "civil union" was controversial. A editorial in one of Portland's weeklies designated BRO and the bill's prime sponsor "Rogue of the Week" for accepting the change of terminology.

Five weeks ago, HB 2007 was a civil unions bill. But last week Kotek amended the bill to use the more poll-proven domestic partnership, borrowing a phrase from our neighbors to the south (California) and north (Washington passed it last week). New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont call their same-sex couples civil unions.

"No matter what we call it, the reality is that we are getting a package of rights we've never had before,'' says Aisling Coghlan, BRO's interim executive director. "It's a historic victory that will change the lives of thousands of Oregon families."

Rebekah Orr, communications director for the House Democratic Majority, strongly agrees that the name change doesn't matter since the bill's effect remains the same and that name-change critics totally miss the point. At the same time, Orr, a former communications director for BRO, and others insist HB 2007 would have passed the Legislature if it carried the original civil-unions label.

Many took exception to the "Rogue" designation since its something Willamette Week usually reserves for people and groups that the paper's readers more clearly identify as scoundrels, but the name change still disappointed some.

The Oregonian Q&A offered one of the official explanations:

Q: The original Oregon bill called for civil unions. Why the shift in wording to domestic partnership in the legislation that passed?
A: Proponents opted for West Coast consistency (Washington and California have domestic partnership laws). They also decided that the term "domestic partnership," which is older, would be more familiar to Oregonians and more likely to win political support.

[For our part, we're all for "West Coast consistency". After all, most of us can pronounce the r's in "partner" which could be more of a problem in New England.]

The framers of the bill also omitted from the measure permission for religious folk to solemnize a partnership. With the changes, one major right-wing group in Oregon was willing to accept the law without promising an immediate ballot referendum to repeal it:

Nick Graham, spokesman for the conservative religious group the Oregon Family Council, said, "We have no plans at this point to run a referendum on HB 2007."

The group successfully pushed the 2004 gay marriage ban and lobbied against the 2005 civil unions bill.

Graham said his organization remained opposed to the bill, but wasn't planning to petition for a statewide vote because lawmakers provided opponents an opportunity to speak out against it and it differed from the 2005 version enough to soften some concerns. For instance, a minister cannot solemnize a domestic partnership, which was allowed under the civil unions bill. [Register-Guard]

Now, let's hope California's Supremes give Schwarzenegger cover to sign the same-sex marriage bill there and then we could really get to work on some West Coast consistency.

Labels: marriage equality, oregon, politics