Basic Rights Oregon officially announced that today the Oregon Legislature introduced two pieces of legislation. One would be a civil union/domestic partnership bill. The other would be a statewide anti-discrimination law that would outlaw discrimination in employment, housing, public acommodations etc.

From BRO:

Two pieces of vital legislation were introduced today, together aimed at ending discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Oregon. These bills, HB 2007 and SB 2, implement the recommendations of the Governor's Task Force on Equality – a diverse committee of business, clergy and civil rights advocates from across Oregon. The Task Force invested seven months in assessing current Oregon law, analyzing applicable legal precedent, and listening to public testimony at open meetings across the state. Based on this process, the Task Force recommended action on both anti-discrimination and relationship recognition legislation this legislative session.

So it sounds as if the anti-discrimination will originate in the Oregon Senate and the "relationship recognition" will start off in the Oregon House.

Continued:

House Bill 2007, the Oregon Family Fairness Act, would:
Create a new Oregon law to legally recognize the committed relationships of same-sex couples and their families. While this legal recognition is not the same as marriage, it would confer on same-sex couples certain legal protections, rights and responsibilities similar to those generally afforded to opposite couples through marriage.

[...]

Senate Bill 2, The Oregon Equality Act, would:
Amend Oregon's existing non-discrimination laws to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, public accommodation, education and public services statewide.

Currently, there is nothing in state statute making it illegal to evict a good tenant, deny a patron service at a restaurant or refuse to hire a qualified candidate just because of a person's real or perceived sexual orientation. While non-discrimination ordinances have been successfully implemented in a handful of Oregon cities and counties, this has resulted in an inconsistent patchwork of laws across Oregon.

So there you have it. It is offical. Senate Bill 2 and House Bill 2007.

Labels: basic rights oregon, civil union, discrimination, HB 2007, oregon, SB 2

This entry was posted on Monday, February 26, 2007 at 2:44 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.