In April and May 2007, following a previous attempt in 2005, the Oregon state legislature passed legislation to make virtually all of the rights afforded by the state to married couples available to same-sex couples. The status is referred to in Oregon law as a domestic partnership, avoiding the use of the terms marriage or civil union. Governor Ted Kulongoski 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.[1]
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 in housing, employment, public accommodations and public services.[2] The vote at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem was 19-10 in favor of the measure.
The Republican Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives, Karen Minnis, 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"[3] 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 and proposed to create "reciprocal beneficiary agreements".[4] "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 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 won a majority of the formerly Republican-controlled House,[citation needed] 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.
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 required only to register their domestic partnerships through the submission of a paper form. Additionally, the Oregon statute states that "the legal recognition of domestic partnerships under the laws of this state may not be effective beyond the borders of this state and cannot impact restrictions contained in federal law."[5]
House Bill 2839Edit
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".[6] The Governor signed the bill into law on June 25, 2009.
DelaysEdit
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.[7][verification needed][8][verification needed] 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's office later determined that only 55,063 valid signatures were collected, thereby removing a barrier to a January 1, 2008 effective date.[9] On December 28, federal judgeMichael W. Mosman 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.[10][verification needed] 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.[1][11]
Opposite-sex domestic partnershipsEdit
In April 2023, a bill passed both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly to allow opposite-sex couples to formally enter into a domestic partnerships. The bill was signed into law by the Governor of Oregon and goes into effect on January 1, 2024.[12]
, 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
, a group seeking to prevent Oregon House Bill 2007 (2007) and Oregon Senate Bill 2 (2007) from becoming law
October 18, 2023
domestic, partnership, oregon, april, 2007, following, previous, attempt, 2005, oregon, state, legislature, passed, legislation, make, virtually, rights, afforded, state, married, couples, available, same, couples, status, referred, oregon, domestic, partnersh. In April and May 2007 following a previous attempt in 2005 the Oregon state legislature passed legislation to make virtually all of the rights afforded by the state to married couples available to same sex couples The status is referred to in Oregon law as a domestic partnership avoiding the use of the terms marriage or civil union Governor Ted Kulongoski 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 1 Contents 1 History 2 Differences in the legislation 3 House Bill 2839 4 Delays 5 Opposite sex domestic partnerships 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksHistory EditMain article Same sex marriage in Oregon 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 in housing employment public accommodations and public services 2 The vote at the Oregon State Capitol in Salem was 19 10 in favor of the measure The Republican Speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives Karen Minnis 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 3 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 and proposed to create reciprocal beneficiary agreements 4 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 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 won a majority of the formerly Republican controlled House citation needed 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 EditGiven the use of the term domestic partnerships the Oregon legislation is more in line with Washington state s recognition of same sex relationships and California s recognition of same sex relationships as opposed to the civil union legislation created in Vermont New Jersey and New Hampshire However unlike the registries in California and Washington state domestic partnerships in Oregon are not available to opposite sex couples 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 required only to register their domestic partnerships through the submission of a paper form Additionally the Oregon statute states that the legal recognition of domestic partnerships under the laws of this state may not be effective beyond the borders of this state and cannot impact restrictions contained in federal law 5 House Bill 2839 EditHouse 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 6 The Governor signed the bill into law on June 25 2009 Delays EditIn 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 7 verification needed 8 verification needed 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 s office later determined that only 55 063 valid signatures were collected thereby removing a barrier to a January 1 2008 effective date 9 On December 28 federal judge Michael W Mosman 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 10 verification needed 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 1 11 Opposite sex domestic partnerships EditIn April 2023 a bill passed both houses of the Oregon Legislative Assembly to allow opposite sex couples to formally enter into a domestic partnerships The bill was signed into law by the Governor of Oregon and goes into effect on January 1 2024 12 See also EditLGBT rights in Oregon Same sex marriage in Oregon Same sex marriage in the United States Same sex marriage legislation in the United States Same sex marriage in the United States public opinion Same sex marriage status in the United States by state List of benefits of marriage in the United States Defense of Marriage Act Marriage Protection Act U S state constitutional amendments banning same sex unions Federal Marriage Amendment Domestic partnerships in the United States Freedom to Marry Coalition History of civil marriage in the U S References Edit a b Ruling Allows Legal Status for Partners of Same Sex The New York Times 2008 02 03 Senate Bill 1000 A Engrossed PDF Oregon Legislative Assembly 2005 Archived from the original PDF on 2008 02 28 Legislative Glossary Oregon Legislative Assembly Archived from the original on 2007 03 03 Senate Bill 1000 B Engrossed PDF Oregon Legislative Assembly 2005 Archived from the original PDF on 2008 02 28 Robben Janine Understanding Oregon s Family Fairness Act Oregon State Bar Bulletin December 2007 accessed 30 June 2013 House tweaks domestic partnership law for same sex couples thebacklot com Corner of Hollywood and Gay 365gay com Retrieved 2014 04 05 thebacklot com Corner of Hollywood and Gay 365gay com Retrieved 2014 04 05 thebacklot com Corner of Hollywood and Gay 365gay com Retrieved 2014 04 05 thebacklot com Corner of Hollywood and Gay 365gay com Retrieved 2014 04 05 1 Archived February 5 2008 at the Wayback Machine Oregon HB2032 2023 Regular Session External links EditOregon 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 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Domestic partnership in Oregon amp oldid 1154788351, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
