Oregon United for Marriage, a coalition of organizations with the same end goal, is in the process of getting Oregon voters to sign the petition to put the Freedom to Marry and Religious Protection Initiative on the November 2014 ballot.
In order for the initiative to go on the ballot, Oregon United for Marriage must gather 116,284 valid signatures from registered Oregon voters.
As of last weekend, a total of 118,176 signatures have been collected, according to Colin Crader, state chair for Oregon United for Marriage. However, not all signatures will be valid. Crader said that their goal is to collect between 30 and 50 thousand more signatures by July 2014.
Students United for Marriage, part of Oregon United for Marriage, have formed campaigns at Portland State University, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon. In total, these three universities have collected 6,000 signatures for the campaign.
If the initiative goes on the ballot and voters pass it, Oregon would join the 16 other states in the nation that allow same-sex marriage. It would also protect the right of religious institutions to refuse to perform a marriage.
In addition, it would overturn measure 36, a constitutional ban on gay marriage passed in 2004 that explicitly outlines that marriage in Oregon is between one man and one woman.
The campaign is endorsed by the Democratic Party of Oregon as well as other businesses. In October the Portland Timbers, Portland Thorns and Portland Trail Blazers all were the first professional sports teams in the U.S. to publicly endorse same-sex marriage. Last month, Nike announced its support of the initiative and formed the Nike Equality PAC to raise money for the campaign. So far they have given $280,000 to Oregon United for Marriage.
A Public Policy Polling from December 2012 showed that 54 percent of Oregon voters are in support of same-sex marriage, 40 percent do not support it and five percent are unsure.
“Now is our moment,” said Peter Zuckerman, press secretary for Oregon United for Marriage. “Especially for students. It’s a historic time and people who want to make a difference, people who believe in treating others as they would want to be treated, people who want to be part of history, now is their chance.”
Since 2008, Oregon has allowed broad domestic-partnerships between same-sex couples. Domestic-partnerships offer the same rights and benefits, but none of the federal protections of marriage.
“Marriage says family in a way that no other word does,” Zuckerman said. “Marriage matters. There have been attempts to create marriage, like relationship systems, but they don’t provide the same protection or meaning. You don’t have to explain what it means when you are married.”
Kay Mellenphin and her husband Clark Compton have been volunteers with Oregon United for Marriage since this summer. Inspired to provide equality, they set up a committee within their church, the First Congregational United Church of Christ in Eugene, to raise more support community members.
“We believe that it is important for the faith community, specifically in Eugene, that’s in support of gay and lesbians to get married to speak out as loudly and as sincerely as faith communities that oppose same gender marriage,” Mellenphin said.