At home and at work, state stretches laws' protections.

Byline: The Register-Guard

Here's how the legal rights under Oregon's newly enacted domestic partnership law and expanded anti-discrimination law work:

Domestic partnerships: Starting in January, two unmarried, unrelated individuals of the same sex 18 or older, at least one of whom is an Oregon resident, would be eligible to form a domestic partnership.

The state Department of Human Services will prepare "Declaration of Domestic Partnership" forms to be completed by an applying couple and filed with their county clerk. Each partner would sign an affidavit to be notarized and would pay a $25 fee.

The clerk would enter the form in a registry and give the couple a copy of the form and a "Certificate of Registered Domestic Partnership."

Couples would have the option to have a church blessing or not. No justice of the peace or ordained minister can officiate a domestic partnership, and churches are not obligated to perform solemnization for domestic partnerships.

The law extends to members of a domestic partnership any privilege, immunity, right, responsibility or benefit available under state rule or law to a married person.

These rights and responsibilities include taking bereavement or sick leave to care for a partner or a partner's child; choosing a final resting place for a deceased partner; transferring property and assets from a deceased partner to his or her surviving partner; obtaining joint health, home and auto insurance policies; getting an equitable division of property in partnership dissolutions or annulment; filing joint state tax returns; receiving a death benefit under state worker's compensation laws; and the responsibility to pay court-ordered child or spousal support after a partnership is dissolved.

Oregon's law does not allow domestic partners to access the 1,138 benefits of marriage contained in federal law. Nor does it require other states to recognize legal rights of Oregon domestic partnerships.

Anti-discrimination: The law already bans discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, marital status, national origin or age in employment, public accommodations, housing, public services, public education, adult foster homes or foster parenting.

Now, it also prohibits such discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The law allows an individual who has experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation to bring a civil action for injunctive relief, damages and attorney fees.

The law includes a "religious exemption" acknowledging churches and other religious entities that might object to hiring a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered person based on the belief that homosexuality is sinful.

This exemption specifies that any position in a church or other place of worship is exempt from any civil actions under the anti-discrimination law when employing people in positions such as clergy, religious instructors and support staff. It details which types of religious nonprofit organizations are exempt, giving as examples religious schools and camps, religious day care centers, bookstores, radio stations and shelters.