Kitzhaber signs Oregon gay marriage petition

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PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Supporters of same-sex marriage have chosen, not so coincidentally, Valentine's Day to start their campaign to reverse Oregon's voter-approved ban on gay marriage.Basic Rights Oregon, the state's leading gay-rights group, formed a campaign organization called Oregon United for Marriage to get a constitutional amendment on the November 2014 ballot.Gov. John Kitzhaber and former Gov. Barbara Roberts attended a Portland event Thursday afternoon to sign the sponsorship petitions the organization needs to advance the initiative.Oregon voters in 2004 approved a ban on gay marriage 57 percent to 43 percent. Basic Rights Oregon contends that since then, approval of gay marriage in other states and vocal public support from President Barack Obama have helped shift momentum.Events were planned in 14 Oregon cities on Valentine's Day to gather the sponsorship petitions."We are inviting our partners and supporters to take this next step with us: To sign the sponsorship petition, and commit to uniting Oregon in support of the freedom to marry for all Oregonians," said Jeana Frazzini, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon.Roberts, Oregon's only female governor, said, "As more and more people come to understand that committed couples, whether they are gay or straight, hope to marry for similar reasons, they're coming to realize that this is much more than a political issue.""This is about love, commitment and family," she said in a prepared statement.But the Oregon Family Council said it has been preparing to oppose such a measure and both sides would have a difficult fight.A 2007 Oregon law allows same-sex couples to register a domestic partnership that provides the same rights as marriage under state law. Last year, Oregon had 558 domestic partnerships through October, according to the Oregon Health Authority, which tracks vital statistics.Basic Rights Oregon decided against seeking a same-sex marriage initiative in the 2012 election, saying at the time that it wasn't clear the effort could win.For a measure to reverse the 2004 gay-marriage ban, Basic Rights Oregon will first need to collect 1,000 valid sponsorship signatures. After that, 116,284 valid signatures will be needed to qualify for the November 2014 ballot.Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.

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