OREGON - More than three decades after he co-sponsored one of the early efforts, Gov. Ted Kulongoski signed bills on Wednesday barring discrimination based on sexual orientation and providing legal recognition of same-sex couples through domestic partnerships.
"We are all created equal and that Oregon is a land of equal opportunity for all of our citizens," said Kulongoski, who was joined by about 200 people gathered on the west steps of the Capitol.
Among them were former Gov. Barbara Roberts, who led the opposition to statewide anti-gay rights ballot measures in the 1990s; House Speaker Jeff Merkley, D-Portland; Senate Majority Leader Kate Brown, D-Portland, who is married but considers herself bisexual, and other lawmakers from both parties.
"It took more than 20 years, but what great progress we have made," said Gail Shibley of Portland, the first openly gay lawmaker, who was in the House from 1991 to 1997.
"Biblical strictures aside, love one another and treat others as you would be treated yourself are at the top of my list," said Fred Neal, a retired state elections manager and the first gay candidate for the Portland City Council in 1994.
As a legislator in 1975, Kulongoski co-sponsored a bill that would have added sexual orientation to Oregon's civil-rights law.
A similar bill failed by one vote in the House that session.
Senate Bill 2 bars discrimination based on sexual orientation in the workplace, housing and public accommodations. Oregon joins 17 other states with similar laws.
House Bill 2007 creates domestic partnerships, which establish marriage-type benefits in civil contracts for same-sex couples. The state law does not extend to more than 1,000 benefits that federal law confers to married couples.
from The Statesman Journal
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