The Bigotry of Oregon Civil Unions

The sponsors of Oregon Senate Bill 1000, which would grant civil unions and make homosexuals a protected class, have taken a different path. They have created SB 1073 which authorizes civil unions but removes the "non-discrimination" language.

I've commented on this notion of civil unions in Oregon and why it is really marriage by a different name. It is interesting that civil union advocates have dismissed SB 3476 which would provide some of the specific legal remedies - like hospital visitation, health care representation, estate issues, medical records access, etc) to any two people who are unable to marry regardless of sexual orientation. They say it doesn't go far enough.

Instead of working to make the reciprocal benefits of SB 3476 better, they reject it entirely and go back to advocating state sanctioned marriage benefits. This reveals something very profound about the civil union advocates.

Though they tout equality, they only want benefits for same-sex relationships. SB 3476 actually helps more people then SB 1073. If it is bigoted to "deny" legal benefits and rights to same-sex relationships (which is the claim of same-sex marriage advocates) then it is equally bigoted to deny those benefits to other, less conventional, family relationships.

Civil union advocates are not interested in equality in any meaningful sense of the word. They want to normalize homosexuality. They need same-sex relationships to be on the same (or as close to the) level as opposite-sex relationships. To have other relationships on that same level does not hold same-sex relationships on a special level.

For more information, see the Oregon Family Council web site.