Spring Break
Domestic partnership bill, a right to choose
Sara Gwin
Issue date: 1/15/08 Section: Forum
With the 2004 decision to amend the constitution to define marriage as between one man and one woman and the recent halting of the domestic partnership bill, I can't help but feel that this is a sad time for Oregon.
Starting Jan. 2, Oregon would have joined California, D.C., Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and Washington to give state rights similar to opposite-sex marriage.
Because this issue is handled at the state level, same-sex couples in these areas are not given all 1,138 rights awarded to married couples by the federal government.
Massachusetts is the only state to legalize same-sex marriage; however, the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act would give other states the right to deny the recognition of marriage and would take away rights like hospital visitation, inheritance and guardianship of children.
The bill granting domestic partnerships was halted by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in response to the claim by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal support group, that some signatures obtained to overturn the bill were unfairly thrown out. The ADF was started by 35 ministries in 1994, including Dr. James Dobson, the founder of "Focus on the Family."
The ADF opposes any rights for same-sex couples. On their website they claim, "God ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman," and the idea of granting same-sex couples the same rights afforded to opposite-sex married couples "threatens to destroy this institution, to the detriment of future generations."
Their goal is to save traditional marriage, but what exactly is meant by "traditional marriage?"
Marriage has meant a variety of things over time. It was once a property transfer of a daughter from the father to the husband, a way to make political or military alliances, a practical arrangement between individuals, as well as a way to improve or maintain social statuses. In traditional English common law, marriage was a model based on male domination and female subordination, where the "husband and wife are one, and that one is the husband."
Starting Jan. 2, Oregon would have joined California, D.C., Hawaii, Maine, New Jersey and Washington to give state rights similar to opposite-sex marriage.
Because this issue is handled at the state level, same-sex couples in these areas are not given all 1,138 rights awarded to married couples by the federal government.
Massachusetts is the only state to legalize same-sex marriage; however, the passage of the Defense of Marriage Act would give other states the right to deny the recognition of marriage and would take away rights like hospital visitation, inheritance and guardianship of children.
The bill granting domestic partnerships was halted by U.S. District Judge Michael Mosman in response to the claim by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Christian legal support group, that some signatures obtained to overturn the bill were unfairly thrown out. The ADF was started by 35 ministries in 1994, including Dr. James Dobson, the founder of "Focus on the Family."
The ADF opposes any rights for same-sex couples. On their website they claim, "God ordained marriage to be between one man and one woman," and the idea of granting same-sex couples the same rights afforded to opposite-sex married couples "threatens to destroy this institution, to the detriment of future generations."
Their goal is to save traditional marriage, but what exactly is meant by "traditional marriage?"
Marriage has meant a variety of things over time. It was once a property transfer of a daughter from the father to the husband, a way to make political or military alliances, a practical arrangement between individuals, as well as a way to improve or maintain social statuses. In traditional English common law, marriage was a model based on male domination and female subordination, where the "husband and wife are one, and that one is the husband."
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