Senate Judiciary Committee Passes Domestic Partnership Bill

House Bill 2007 heads to the Senate floor for a vote.

Oregon state capitol Photo by: Tim King

(SALEM) - The Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Senator Ginny Burdick (D-Portland/Tigard), passed House Bill 2007A this afternoon, establishing domestic partnerships for same sex couples. The bill now heads to the Senate chamber for a floor vote. House Bill 2007A has already passed the House chamber, receiving approval on a 34-26 vote on April 17th.

Senator Burdick, a strong supporter of equal rights in Oregon, said, “This bill creates equal rights for same-sex couples that married couples already receive from the state. I truly believe that every family deserves the same benefits and recognition from the state. This is an excellent compliment to the anti-discrimination legislation passed by both chambers earlier this session.”

House Bill 2007A does not amend Oregon’s constitutional provisions relating to marriage, which was passed in 2004, but rather grants recognition of same-sex couples by the state. Under domestic partnerships, same-sex couples receive the same legal benefits as married couples in the state. However, domestic partnerships are not required to be recognized by any church as marriage and are not recognized by the federal government.

House Bill 2007A is expected to receive a full Senate vote within the next week.

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Thank You Troy. Facts are better than half-baked information. Deb, If you get married again, you will have the benefits. Sorry about your first marriage but you are not alone....little consolation. Many people get stuck with other peoples' debt. Don't ask me why but I actually had to pay half of my adult brother's legal bill based on an estate technicality, nothing to do with the estate in reality. By the way, you now appear to have a domestic partner and believe that you can register as such. You will not get all the benefits of marriage but may be better off than cohabitating.

Do what? Less rights? Have you even read the bill? I did-word for word. It does not give heterosexual couples lesser rights at all. If homosexual couples decide to split up and have property or debts in common, they go through the same divorce proceedings a heterosexual couple does. What benefits are you referring to? None are granted to homosexual couples any more than heterosexual couples currently experience. In fact, homosexual couples will still not be equal under the law since it only grants rights the State of Oregon and it's counties give--it will not affect the benefits of marriage at the Federal level. In fact, it is not even a marriage at all--something the law makes clear. Read the actual law before commenting in such a way that clearly shows you do not know the facts and are only spewing what others tell you You can see the actual text of the law at http://www.leg.state.or.us/07reg/measures/hb2000.dir/hb2007.intro.html

I followed all the 'rules' and got married once. I didn't notice any benefits coming my way when the relationship broke up. Quite the contrary, I got stuck with his bad debts. Now I have been in a relationship for over 20 years, and because it is heterosexual, we have less 'rights' and benefits than same sex couples will have if this passes. Rather strange to my way of thinking.

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