Tuesday, June 17, 2008
BILL GRAVES, The Oregonian Staff
Organizers conceded Monday that their initiatives to repeal two Oregon gay rights laws will not make the November ballot.
The fact that the initiatives are stalled offers more evidence that opponents are losing support, say gay rights activists, who were also celebrating the legalization of same-sex marriages in California on Monday.
But conservatives and church groups that are pushing the Oregon initiatives say their support is growing.
"We're just getting stronger," said Marylin Shannon of Brooks, a former Republican state senator and chief petitioner in the initiative drives. "The network is growing daily."
They are targeting two laws passed by the 2007 Legislature. One law banned discrimination against gays in work, housing and public places such as restaurants.
The other created domestic partnerships, civil union-like contracts that give government recognition and most of the state benefits and responsibilities of marriage to same-sex couples.
The domestic partnership law went into effect Feb. 4, and so far 2,065 same-sex couples, from every county in the state, have registered for partnerships. About 70 percent of the couples are women, and nearly half live in Multnomah County.
Basic Rights Oregon, the state's largest gay rights group, challenged ballot titles for the initiatives in April and May with petitions to the Oregon Supreme Court.
The court has yet to rule, and until it does, initiative supporters cannot collect signatures. With the July 3 deadline less than three weeks away, initiative supporters concede they will not have time to collect the 82,769 signatures they need for each initiative.
Opponents argue domestic partnerships give same-sex couples marriage by another name and violate the spirit of Measure 36, a constitutional amendment approved by voters in 2004. The measure declared marriage legally valid only between a man and a woman.
Critics tried to collect enough signatures last year to refer the domestic partnership law to voters but fell 96 signatures short. They challenged the count in federal court, lost and appealed. Three members of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear that appeal July 8 in Portland.
Meanwhile same-sex couples are planning summer ceremonies, and activists say public attitudes are changing.
"There is a sea change in the sense that the opponents of our laws don't have the kind of support in this state that perhaps they once did," said Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon.
A CBS News poll released Sunday shows a shift in attitudes nationwide. In the poll, 30 percent of Americans say same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, up from 21 percent in 2004. Another 28 percent support some form of legal recognition such as a domestic partnership.
But while Oregonians may be more tolerant of giving benefits to gay couples -- such as the right to transfer property or make health care decisions -- most remain firmly opposed to marriage, said Tim Nashif, political director of the Oregon Family Council, a Christian organization.
"They are as strong, if not stronger, on the idea that marriage needs to be between a man and a woman," he said Monday.
They also worry about gay rights conflicting with their religious beliefs or affecting their children in public schools, Nashif said.
Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, a chief petitioner for the initiative to repeal the domestic partnership law, said he was discouraged by the Oregon Supreme Court's lack of action.
"We are not authorized to pick up one signature yet," he said. "Something is not quite right with that."
Basic Rights challenged the title of the initiative to repeal domestic partnerships because it did not make it clear to voters that it would not only repeal the domestic partnership law but also nullify similar local laws, said Margaret Olney, a Portland attorney representing the group.
Basic Rights also complained the initiative challenging the anti-discrimination law was difficult to understand and did not make it clear to voters that it would apply retroactively, Olney said.
Opponents now must consider whether to file new initiatives for 2010, Shannon said.
"We're getting tired of the way we're being treated," she said, "but we're not giving up."
A CBS News poll released Sunday shows a shift in attitudes nationwide. In the poll, 30 percent of Americans say same-sex couples should be allowed to marry, up from 21 percent in 2004.
Another 28 percent support some form of legal recognition such as a domestic partnership.
But while Oregonians may be more tolerant of giving benefits to gay couples -- such as the right to transfer property or make health care decisions -- most remain firmly opposed to marriage, said Tim Nashif, political director of the Oregon Family Council, a Christian organization.
"They are as strong, if not stronger, on the idea that marriage needs to be between a man and a woman," he said Monday.
They also worry about gay rights conflicting with their religious beliefs or affecting their children in public schools, Nashif said.
Rep. Sal Esquivel, R-Medford, a chief petitioner for the initiative to repeal the domestic partnership law, said he was discouraged by the Oregon Supreme Court's lack of action.
"We are not authorized to pick up one signature yet," he said. "Something is not quite right with that."
Basic Rights challenged the title of the initiative to repeal domestic partnerships because it did not make it clear to voters that it would not only repeal the domestic partnership law but also nullify similar local laws, said Margaret Olney, a Portland attorney representing the group.
Basic Rights also complained the initiative challenging the anti-discrimination law was difficult to understand and did not make it clear to voters that it would apply retroactively, Olney said.
Opponents now must consider whether to file new initiatives for 2010, Shannon said.
"We're getting tired of the way we're being treated," she said, "but we're not giving up."
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