PORTLAND, Ore. — Some 2,600 Oregon same-sex couples, about one in five, have registered as domestic partners since the civil unions became legal a year ago. An analysis by The Oregonian shows that nearly half of the registered couples live in Multnomah County and 70 percent are women.
After voters banned same-sex marriage in 2004, gay rights activists got a domestic partnership law, which gives same-sex couples most of the state protections and benefits of marriage. Most of Oregon’s 12,700 gay and lesbian couples have yet to register, often because it falls short of their ultimate goal, which is marriage.
Oregon’s same-sex couples do not get the tax, Social Security and other federal benefits that married couples receive.
Information from: The Oregonian, https://www.oregonlive.com