Domestic partnership in Oregon
Encyclopedia
In April and May 2007, following a previous attempt in 2005, the Oregon state legislature
Oregon Legislative Assembly
The Oregon Legislative Assembly is the state legislature for the U.S. state of Oregon. The Legislative Assembly is bicameral, consisting of an upper and lower house: the Senate, whose 30 members are elected to serve four-year terms; and the House of Representatives, with 60 members elected to...

 passed legislation to make virtually all of the rights afforded to married couples available to same-sex couples
Same-sex relationship
A same-sex relationship is a relationship between two persons of the same sex and can take many forms, from romantic and sexual, to non-romantic close relationships. The term is mainly associated with gay and lesbian people...

. The new status will be referred to in Oregon law as a domestic partnership, avoiding the use of the terms marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

or civil union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...

. Governor Ted Kulongoski
Ted Kulongoski
Theodore R. "Ted" Kulongoski is an American politician, who served as the 36th Governor of Oregon. A Democrat, he has served in both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly, as the state Insurance Commissioner, the Attorney General, and an Associate Justice on the Oregon Supreme Court.-Early...

 signed the bill on May 9, 2007. While January 1, 2008 was the date the statute would have taken effect, a court challenge had delayed its implementation. It was resolved on February 1, 2008, and the law went into effect that day, with registrations beginning on February 4, 2008.

History

On July 8, 2005, Oregon state senators approved legislation to allow same-sex civil unions. As originally written, Oregon Senate Bill 1000 would create civil unions and prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

 in housing, employment, public accommodations and public services. The vote at the Oregon State Capitol
Oregon State Capitol
The Oregon State Capitol is the building housing the state legislature and the offices of the governor, secretary of state, and treasurer of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located in the state capital, Salem. The current building, constructed from 1936 to 1938, and expanded in 1977, is the third...

 in Salem
Salem, Oregon
Salem is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river forms the boundary between Marion and Polk counties, and the city neighborhood...

 was 19-10 in favor of the measure.

The Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 57,000. The House meets at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem....

, Karen Minnis
Karen Minnis
Karen Minnis is a Oregon Republican politician in United States. She was a member of the Oregon House of Representatives from 1998 to 2009, and served as Speaker of the House from 2003 to 2006.-Early life:...

, announced that she would not let the bill be passed. On July 21, the House performed a series of moves where the bill was amended, removing most of its language and replacing it with different text (seen by some to be a "gut and stuff" maneuver). The new text of Senate Bill 1000 no longer contained language about sexual orientation, prohibition of discrimination, nor civil unions. Instead, it reaffirmed the recent state constitutional prohibition of same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....

 and proposed to create "reciprocal beneficiary agreements". "Reciprocal beneficiaries" could be any two people prohibited by law from marrying each other, such as a "widowed mother and her unmarried son", and would not have the rights and obligations of married persons, specifically excluding employer-granted benefits such as health insurance
Health insurance
Health insurance is insurance against the risk of incurring medical expenses among individuals. By estimating the overall risk of health care expenses among a targeted group, an insurer can develop a routine finance structure, such as a monthly premium or payroll tax, to ensure that money is...

 or retirement benefits. Reciprocal beneficiaries would be granted inheritance rights, and the power to make medical or financial decisions if the reciprocal beneficiary was incapacitated.

The changes effectively killed momentum to pass the bill, which died in committee.

However, after the November 2006 mid-term elections Democrats
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 won a majority of the formerly Republican-controlled House, and in early 2007, Democrats re-introduced a bill in the House similar to the 2005 legislation. The bill adopted the term "domestic partnership" to describe these unions; the terms "marriage" or "civil union" were absent. This bill enjoyed a relatively easy passage through the legislature, when compared to its 2005 predecessor. Passed by the House on April 17, 2007 (by a vote of 34-26) and by the Senate on May 2, 2007 (by a vote of 21-9), Governor Kulongoski signed the Oregon Family Fairness Act on May 9, 2007. The law was scheduled to take effect January 1, 2008, but was delayed by a preliminary injunction until after a hearing on February 1, 2008, where the injunction was lifted. Domestic partnerships became effective from February 4, 2008.

Differences in the legislation

Given the use of the term "domestic partnerships", the Oregon legislation is more in line with Washington state's recognition of same-sex relationships
Domestic partnership in Washington
State Registered Domestic Partnerships in Washington were created in the aftermath of the Andersen v. King County decision. Subsequent legislation has made a SRDP the equivalent of marriage under state law.-Beginnings:...

, as opposed to the civil union legislation created in Vermont, New Jersey, and New Hampshire
Civil unions in New Hampshire
Same-sex marriage became legal in the U.S. state of New Hampshire on January 1, 2010, replacing civil unions. On January 1, 2011, all civil unions in the state became marriages unless otherwise dissolved, annulled or previously converted to marriage.On January 1, 2008, civil unions became legal in...

 (Massachusetts
Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Massachusetts began on May 17, 2004, as a result of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts ruling in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health that it was unconstitutional under the Massachusetts constitution to allow only heterosexual couples to marry...

, Connecticut
Same-sex marriage in Connecticut
Connecticut joined Massachusetts as one of two states in the U.S. to perform marriages of same-sex couples on November 12, 2008. Connecticut was the third state to do so, but only the second where the decision was not repealed.-Civil union:...

, Iowa
Same-sex marriage in Iowa
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of Iowa became legal on April 3, 2009.Iowa's first dealings with same-sex marriage came in 1998, after recent court cases on same-sex unions, starting in Hawaii, found that denying the right to marry to same-sex couples was incompatible with the Equal Protection...

, Vermont, New York
Same-sex marriage in New York
Same-sex marriage in the U.S. state of New York became legal on July 24, 2011, under the Marriage Equality Act, which was passed on June 24, 2011, by the New York State Legislature and signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on the same day...

, and New Hampshire are currently the only U.S. states that sanction same-sex marriage) California
Same-sex marriage in California
The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so...

 recognizes same-sex marriages which were performed before the passage of Proposition 8
California Proposition 8 (2008)
Proposition 8 was a ballot proposition and constitutional amendment passed in the November 2008 state elections...

.

Oregon's legislation has no ceremony requirement. All marriage and civil union legislation require a ceremony, whether religious or civil, to be considered valid. In Oregon couples are only required to register their domestic partnerships through the submission of a paper form. Additionally, the Oregon statute contemplates that the domestic partnerships are only valid in the state of Oregon. All other marriage and civil union laws assume the validity of such relationships in every other jurisdiction - although in practice they are almost never recognized in states that forbid same-sex marriages. These changes may have been placed to avoid any conflict with the Oregon constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

House Bill 2839

House Bill 2839 was introduced during the 2009 legislative session to make some technical fixes to the state's exiting domestic partnership legislation, including in the areas of taxation and health insurance benefits and entitlements, taking a domestic partner's surname, and clarifying the term "domestic partnership" and "civil union" as used in other states, so that the state of Oregon would recognize them as "domestic partnerships". The Governor signed the bill into law on June 25, 2009.

Delays

In 2007, an attempted referendum to repeal these laws before they take effect failed to gather enough signatures. Such an effort, accomplished by a petition putting the laws to voter approval via a ballot question, would have delayed enforcement of the law to January 1, 2009. In September 2007, groups challenging the amendment submitted approximately 63,000 signatures in favor of repealing the legislation; the minimum number of signatures required for a referendum is 55,179. The Secretary of State
Oregon Secretary of State
The Secretary of State of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the Governor. The duties of office are: auditor of public accounts, chief elections officer, and administrator of public...

's office later determined that only 55,063 valid signatures were collected, thereby removing a barrier to a January 1, 2008 effective date. On December 28, federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....

 Michael W. Mosman
Michael W. Mosman
Michael Wise Mosman is an American attorney and jurist from Oregon. He is currently a federal district court judge in Portland, Oregon, for the United States District Court for the District of Oregon...

 issued an injunction preventing implementation of the law, after hearing a legal challenge (by a group opposing the measure) criticizing the method used by the Secretary of State's office to determine what constitutes a valid signature. A hearing on this issue was then scheduled for February 1, 2008, when the injunction was lifted, allowing the law to go in force immediately, with registrations beginning on February 4, 2008.

See also

  • LGBT rights in Oregon
    LGBT rights in Oregon
    Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons in the U.S. state of Oregon have many legal protections. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in the state...

  • Same-sex marriage in the United States
    Same-sex marriage in the United States
    The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage in the United States, but such marriages are recognized by some individual states. The lack of federal recognition was codified in 1996 by the Defense of Marriage Act, before Massachusetts became the first state to grant marriage licenses...

  • Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
    Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
    In response to court action in a number of states, the United States federal government and a number of state legislatures passed or attempted to pass legislation either prohibiting or allowing same-sex marriage or other types of same-sex unions.-Federal level:...

  • Same-sex marriage in the United States public opinion
    Same-sex marriage in the United States public opinion
    Public opinion on same-sex marriage in the United States has been tracked by polling data for well over a decade. As of the year 2010, polls provide differing answers to the question of how the majority of Americans view same-sex marriage, although it is clear that support for same-sex marriage...

  • Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
    Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
    Same-sex unions have been on the political radar in the United States since the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that denying licenses to same-sex partners violated the Hawaii constitution unless there is a "compelling state interest." Since Massachusetts became the first state to legalize...

  • List of benefits of marriage in the United States
  • Defense of Marriage Act
    Defense of Marriage Act
    The Defense of Marriage Act is a United States federal law whereby the federal government defines marriage as a legal union between one man and one woman. Under the law, no U.S. state may be required to recognize as a marriage a same-sex relationship considered a marriage in another state...

  • Marriage Protection Act
    Marriage Protection Act
    The Marriage Protection Act is a bill in the United States Congress to amend the federal judicial code to deny federal courts jurisdiction to hear or decide any question pertaining to the interpretation of the Defense of Marriage Act or the MPA...

  • U.S. state constitutional amendments banning same-sex unions
  • Federal Marriage Amendment
    Federal Marriage Amendment
    The Federal Marriage Amendment H.J. Res. 56 was a proposed amendment to the United States Constitution which would have limited marriage in the United States to unions of one man and one woman...

  • Domestic partnerships in the United States
    Domestic partnerships in the United States
    In the United States of America, domestic partnership is a city-, county-, state-, or employer-recognized status that may be available to same-sex couples and, sometimes, opposite-sex couples. Although similar to marriage, a domestic partnership does not confer any of the 1,138 rights afforded to...

  • Freedom to Marry Coalition
    Freedom to Marry
    Freedom to Marry is a non-profit organization leading the campaign for same-sex marriages to be recognized nationwide in the United States of America...

  • History of civil marriage in the U.S.
    History of civil marriage in the U.S.
    Many laws in the history of the United States have addressed marriage and the rights of married people. Common themes addressed by these laws include polygamy, interracial marriage, divorce, and same-sex marriage.-1800–1899:...


External links

  • Oregon Domestic Partnership Forms, Oregon Center for Health Statistics page with domestic partnership forms and further information
  • Basic Rights Oregon, a group committed to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Oregon
  • Concerned Oregonians, a group seeking to prevent Oregon House Bill 2007 (2007) and Oregon Senate Bill 2 (2007) from becoming law
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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