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Oregon Senate to vote on civil unions for Gay couples

Oregon Senate to vote on civil unions for Gay couples
picture above Governor Ted Kulongowski Ban on anti-Gay and gender identity discrimination also on the table by Robert Raketty - SGN Staff Writer The Oregon Senate will vote on whether or not to permit civil unions for same-sex couples in that state. A vote by the Senate Rules Committee on Tuesday, June 7, cleared the way with the vote falling along party lines: three Democrats voted for the measure, two Republicans voted against it. Senate Bill 1073 would grant to same-sex couples joined by a civil union all the rights currently enjoyed by heterosexual couples married under Oregon law. However, same-sex couples would still be barred from the hundreds of rights, privileges and responsibilities available under federal law, including Social Security benefits. A similar bill, SB 1000, has stalled in the Senate. The measure would not only allow civil unions, but also enact a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Similar anti-discrimination legislation, which included sexual orientation, was first introduced in the Oregon legislature in 1975. Basic Rights Oregon, a pro-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender advocacy organization, had originally written the legislation that Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongowski has since championed. He has not only said he will sign it, but he was the requestor on the civil unions and anti-discrimination bills, said BRO spokesperson Rebekah Kassell. Those were the bills that we had drafted and he made them his number one legislative priority this session. The governor may have to put some...pressure on to bring it to a vote or he may have to work out some kind of trade. We dont really know exactly how that will all be worked out, but we are really counting on the governors leadership to make this happen. HURDLES IN THE HOUSE SB 1073 is expected to pass the Democratic controlled Senate, but faces a hurdle in the House. The Republican House leadership is unlikely to allow the legislation to come to the floor for a vote. We expect a vote in the Senate in the next few days. Then, it will have to go to the House, said Kassell. We are of course facing much greater challenges in the House than in the Democratic controlled Senate. However, we believe we have the votes in the House if the House leadership will allow it to come to a vote. The House is also considering a reciprocal-beneficiary bill that would extend about a dozen benefits to two people in co-dependent relationships such as cousins, roommates or relatives. Same-sex couples could also gain from the measure. Opponents to civil unions have been touting the legislation as a solution to civil unions, but Kassell discounts their claims. On its face in terms of the protections it provides to other people who are maybe responsible for one another and may need a discreet set of protections we are not opposed to that, she said. I certainly think that it is intended to undermine our effort to pass a civil unions bill that provides real fairness to same-sex couples and their families. This other bill offers reciprocal benefits that would provide a handful of protection to anyone who is prohibited from marrying. We are opposed to this bill as a substitute for civil unions because the commitment and seriousness of the relationships between same-sex couples is not the same as two cousins, two widows or two roommates. One of the talking points of our opposition in support of this bill is that it provides no legal recognition to Gay and Lesbian Oregonians. I think if that doesnt speak to their motives, I dont know what does. BATTLE LOST BUT WAR RAGES ON Voters passed Measure 36 last November, which amended the Oregon Constitution to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. That states Supreme Court also voided 3,000 marriage licenses that had been issued to same-sex couples by Multnomah County. The county has since returned the $60 licensing fee to the couples, many of whom have since donated their checks to BRO, according to Kassell. Despite the setback, BRO is continuing with its legal battles on behalf of LGBT Oregonians. In September, a trial court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in Martinez v. Kulongowski, a lawsuit the challenges the legality of Measure 36. The organization is also holding strategy meetings to discuss a potential lawsuit seeking to resolve the constitutional questions left unanswered by the states highest court to date. We are in the process of putting together a new lawsuit that essentially replays much of the legal battle that was involved in our previous marriage case, but one that is really not mired in the policy and the process stuff that came along with issuance of marriage licenses last year, said Kassell. We want the Supreme Court to be able to really focus on the constitutional issues of whether or not the state can treat some Oregonians differently under the law. That lawsuit is still in strategy sessions and has not yet been filed. Kassell says that BRO also has the 2006 election on its radar. We are starting to look at the 2006 election season. We expect that there may be a number of really bad ballot measures, she said. If we are able to pass civil unions, we expect there may be a repeal of that bill on the ballot. We expect the same thing with the anti-discrimination legislation. We also believe that there may be an anti-Gay adoption bill on the ballot. So, we are in the preliminary stages of making sure that we have what we need to have in place to wage those battles. In addition to ballot measureswe really do expect to be doing a lot work with candidates. We have had a candidate PAC for some time and made endorsements, but for the first time in Oregons history we are going to have Oregon legislators on the record on Gay issues Certain Legislators told us for a long time that they were with us and when it comes right down to it, they are not with us unless they vote for us. We are a force to be reckoned with in that respect. That may mean that we oppose certain candidates or may also mean that we recruit candidates to challenge some who didnt do the right thing. According to Kassell, there are strong parallels between the work of BRO and that of other organizations doing similar work elsewhere. I think the West Coast is really advancing this issue in a lot of ways for the rest of the country. I think we need to think of it in a regional way in that respect, she said. Whether its Washington, Oregon or Californiawe have to continue to invest in this movement. I think that really it is a race of endurance and not speed. We cannot let up the pressure I just think that we are at a moment where the stakes are really high. We have had some loses, but we can also draw a line in the sand against prejudice and I think that this is the time to do it. For more information about BRO, visit www.basicrights.org or call (503) 222-6151.


Marc Adams


Mike Haley