SALEM, Ore. (RNS) — Opponents of a new domestic partnership law for same-sex couples failed to gather enough signatures to put a referendum on the November 2008 ballot.
The secretary of state's office said volunteers who spent the summer collecting signatures to allow voters to weigh in on domestic partnerships fell 116 signatures short of the 55,179 needed to qualify for the ballot.
That means that on Jan. 1 same-sex couples in Oregon will be able to enter into domestic partnerships allowing them most of the state benefits of marriage, such as inheritance rights. It does not affect federal benefits, such as Social Security.
In 2004, unhappy with the Multnomah County same-sex marriages, Oregon voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman. Opponents later viewed the domestic partnership law passed by the 2007 Legislature as an attempt to overturn the voters' will.
Last month, a group called Defense of Marriage and Family Again and others submitted petitions with nearly 63,000 signatures to the secretary of state. After the first round of checking, state officials sent 60,531 signatures to the counties for further verification. Those checks found 55,063 valid non-duplicated signatures, short of the 55,179 needed.
Marylin Shannon, a former state senator and spokeswoman for Defense of Marriage and Family Again, said opponents may launch another signature drive — this time for a citizen's initiative that would repeal the domestic partnership law after it takes effect.