Less than a month after same-sex couples in Oregon started
registering as domestic partners under a state law that lets them enjoy
the same state rights and responsibilities as their married
opposite-sex counterparts, anti-gay activists filed an initiative to
repeal the law.
State Senator Fred Girod (R-Stayton) and State Representative Sal
Esquivel (R-Medford) filed the proposed initiative on Friday, February
29. If it makes it on the ballot and passes, the measure would repeal
the domestic partnership law, and make it clear that “same-sex
relationships, civil unions, or domestic partnerships do not grant to
an individual the privileges, immunities, rights, and benefits granted
by law through marriage to individuals.” The measure would also apply
retroactively to all domestic partnerships, according to the initiative
text.
Don’t expect to see signature gatherers on the streets just
yet—the soonest petitions could debut is late March, after a
public comment period. But wrangling over the ballot title—Basic
Rights Oregon intends to watchdog the process—will likely delay
signature gathering even further. Proponents of the initiative have
until July 3 to
turn in 82,769 valid signatures to land on
November’s ballot.