Tuesday, June 14, 2005

[The Lege] SB1073

The people of Oregon have decided that marraige ain't for gay folk. OK, but then what's wrong with creating a not-marriage category ('Civil Unions'), as Senate Bill 1073 does?

The legal motivation for recognizing marriage is not to cater to the special interests of churches, but instead to encourage behavior in the best interests of the state. Married (and not-married folk in Civil Unions) are more stable, spend less time out in bars looking for Mr/Ms Right, own instead of rent, and many other things which lead to a stabler society.

Civil Unions will also reduce the workload of the courts, as one piece of law can define how property is handled after a breakup, and how child custody will work, instead of the myriad of unique contracts now used to try to set these things down in writing. It only makes sense from a legal standpoint to have one consistant set of rules.

There are six state senators for Clackamas County, and this chart has drill-down map links for each, in case you don't know who your Senator is.

Please call your Senator and tell them you favor SB1073.

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