At last count at 4pm this afternoon, Multnomah County had registered 126 same-sex couples as Domestic Partners. We assume that number went up as the day ended.

Obviously this does not include the other 35 counties in Oregon. For some reason I thought that there would be a lot more couples in line today, though then again there isn't a huge rush as there was in Multnomah County back in 2004 during the stint with marriages. It seems that couples may not view it this time around as "we better do it today as it may not be here tomorrow", and they shouldn't view it as that. We're good here in Oregon, at least for the time being.

It's pretty amazing to think back to the 2005 legislative session where our bill passed the Senate only to be killed in the House by former Republican Speaker Karen Minnis. I remember those rallies on the steps of the capitol, the hearings and the floor sessions as if they were yesterday. A very short video from my digital camera from way back when is below.



Then came 2006 when Oregon's GLBT community, led by Basic Rights Oregon, was determined to change the make up of the legislature into one that was fair-minded. I remember election night (at least the early part of the night) when a blue wave swept over Oregon. It was an incredible victory. There was no doubt that it would be an uphill battle even in the Democrat controlled legislature, but we knew that victory was ours for the taking.

Snap forward to May 9th, the day that the Governor signed into law two landmark bills. Oregon's Anti-Discrimination law that went into effect on January 1st, 2007 and Oregon's Domestic Partnership law - that although delayed for a little over a month - is the law of the land as of today.

Here is video from the historic signing:





What a fantastic day to be an Oregonian.

Labels: domestic partnership, oregon

This entry was posted on Monday, February 04, 2008 at 11:08 PM. Want to discuss? Leave a comment below.