Signature Gathering Complete—Oregonians May Vote on Gay-Rights Laws
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Anti-gay rights activists want voters to have their say on two newly approved gay rights laws. The conservative groups submitted over 55,000 signatures to the Secretary of State's office Wednesday in an effort to place a referendum on the November 2008 ballot. The referendum asks the public to vote on whether to keep the state's new domestic partnership law, as well as a law that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. John Hummel with Basic Rights Oregon says it takes a relatively small number of signatures to get a referendum on the ballot, however it's not yet clear whether there are enough valid signatures to do so.
"We're encouraged because in refusing to sign these petitions, Oregonians have shown they're really not interested in rolling back our recently passed anti-discrimination laws, because in Oregon we know discrimination is wrong."
While the laws are slated to go into effect in January, they will be put on hold if there are enough valid signatures to place the referendum on the ballot.
Rev. Gail McDougle with the First Congregational Church in Salem says many of the people turning in the signatures say they represent the voice of the faith community.
"There isn't a unified religious opinion on these matters. There are many people of faith in Oregon who fought for the adoption of these new laws."
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