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57 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, May 5, 2005 Today's News | Shop Our Valley | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery | Contact Us SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Health Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley SHOP OUR VALLEY AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Classified Place an ad TOP JOBS EXTRA Ashland News NIE Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Moving here? eSouthernOregon CUSTOMER SERVICE FAQ's Advertise with us Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 5, 2005 Civil union hearing packs the house By DON JEPSEN for the Mail Tribune SALEM — A large crowd descended on the Capitol Wednesday to show support and opposition to a bill that would allow gays and lesbian couples to enter into civil unions. The audience quickly filled one hearing room where the Senate Rules Committee took testimony on Senate Bill 1000. Latecomers overflowed into three other empty hearing rooms and lined the hallway to catch the proceedings on closed-circuit television. In addition to civil unions giving same-sex couples the rights and benefits of married heterosexuals, the bill prohibits discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodation based on sexual orientation. The measure is one of Gov. Ted Kulongoski’s top legislative priorities. He did not testify, but his wife, Mary Oberst, was the lead-off witness. "You have the opportunity to end discrimination, and you should," she said of extending protections to gays. Of the civil rights component, Oberst commented, "You are simply recognizing a civil right, and undoing a civil wrong." Advertisement Opponents argued that civil unions go against the wishes of voters who in November approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. "To say that we will grant the same rights that married people have is to circumvent the voice and the votes of the people," Rep. Dennis Richardson, R-Central Point, testified. Richardson is promoting a bill on the House side for reciprocal benefits for same sex couples and others who cannot marry but are living together in a dependent situation — for example, two sisters. Sen. Charles Starr, R-Hillsboro, vehemently opposed passage of SB1000. He called homosexuality a "learned behavior" that was once classified as a mental illness "before gay activists bullied the American Psychiatric Association into removing the designation. "There is no homosexual gene," he argued. He said many individuals leave the gay lifestyle, marry and have children. His remarks were disputed by Sen. Alan Bates, D-Ashland, one of four sponsors of SB1000. Bates, a physician, said there is growing evidence that homosexualty is a condition of birth, not a learned behavior. Sen. Frank Morse, R-Albany, another sponsor, took on the Christian right and its belief that homosexuality is a sin. "For these persons, to codify sin in the statues is not only unacceptable, it is horriby wrong," he said. As a Christian, Morse said he rejects that view. "The question before us now is do we condemn, or do we accept. Do we ignore, or do we act. It is time to accept and act, to do what is right," Morse testified. Many witnesses focused their opposition on the civil rights element of the bill. "My concern is that this bill takes away my rights as a landlord and really ties my hands, said Donna Tabor, Portland, a real estate agent and property manager. An underlying issue during the hearing were statements made by backers of Measure 36 during the campaign, to the effect that if voters approved the initiative homosexual couples would be free to pursue marriage-like rights such as civil unions. Roey Thorpe, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, the largest and most influential gay rights organization, said proponents of banning gay marriage were pretty specific. "It explains why so many voters felt comfortable supporting Measure 36," she said. "Now the supporters of Measure 36 are backtracking and saying that civil unions contradict the will of the voters. Shame on them, for the lies they tell and for their transparent opportunism," Thorpe said. Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem. Mail Tribune Home | Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life | Opinion AP News | Archives | Site Map | Community | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune, Inc. All rights reserved. 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