Civil unions in Oregon
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In 2005, civil unions are considered in Oregon, after the ban of same-sex marriages by ballot.
In 2007, a group of rights, avoiding that name, is considered by both Democrat-controlled houses legislature.
[edit] History
On July 8, 2005, Oregon state senators approved legislation to allow same-sex civil unions. As originally written, Senate Bill 1000 would create civil unions and prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, public accommodations and public services. [1] The vote at the state capitol in Salem was 19-10 in favor of the measure.
The Republican Speaker of the Oregon House, 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"[2] 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" [3]. "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 the Republican-controlled house which brought down the civil unions bill has switched hands to the Democrats which, like the Democrat-controlled senate, is likely to approve the civil unions bill, bringing legality for a same-sex unions in Oregon which is more than likely to be heard in 2007[4].
[edit] New elements
On Monday February 26, 2007, a bill is proposed to afford a group of rights, but avoiding to use the civil union denomination. [5]
[edit] See also
- Same-sex marriage in the United States
- Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
- Same-sex marriage in the United States by state
- 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
- Defense of marriage amendment
- Federal Marriage Amendment
- Domestic partnerships in the United States
- Freedom to Marry Coalition
- History of civil marriage in the U.S.
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