Two measures will
go to Oregon's state senate, one proposing domestic
partnerships for same-sex couples and another providing
discrimination protections for LGBT people. According
to The Oregonian, the bills were approved Tuesday by
the house and are expected to pass through the senate and on
to Gov. Ted Kulongoski's desk, who is expected to
sign them.
The Oregon Family
Fairness Act would allow contractual relationships that
grant couples the same benefits of married couples in the
state. The Oregon Equality Act would ban
discrimination against LGBT people in employment,
housing, and access to public accommodations, according to
the report.
Jeff Merkley,
Oregon's speaker of the house, said in a statement
that the legislature was making strides in advancing
the bills.
"Citizen
activists from all corners of the state, along with Basic
Rights Oregon and the Human Rights Campaign, deserve
great credit for this victory," he said.
House
representative David Edwards agreed with Merkley, citing the
urgency of the antidiscrimination bill.
"Freedom
from discrimination enables people to learn, work,
contribute, and achieve. To be deprived of it is a
kind of excommunication from society and its
rewards," he said in the press release. "That
is why I believe covenantal justice demands we pass
this legislation now. When it comes to basic rights,
everyone should count with the same weight."
Each measure was
unanimously endorsed by house Democrats and some
Republicans, who make up the minority of the chamber.
Democrats in the
senate proposed a similar domestic-partnership bill in
2005, which was eventually blocked by Republicans, who at
the time had a majority in the house. (The
Advocate)
