Enactment of the domestic partner and nondiscrimination bills ends the Oregon argument over gay rights. Or at least it should, and there’s no reason to make it flare up again.

That’s why opponents of these bills will make a mistake if, as some are saying, they try to refer them to the voters.

It’s not true that the partnership bill violates the voters’ mandate on marriage. The bill, which will become law come January, confers certain obligations and rights that people who are married also have. But it doesn’t authorize anything close to marriage.

When we voted for the marriage amendment in 2004, there was talk even then that something like a civil union would be the right alternative for people who can’t get married. That’s what the Legislature has now enacted. In a few months we will discover that the partnership law and the expansion of the civil rights law, to cover sexual orientation, will not cause the public or individuals any harm. Instead these enactments embody the principle that all people ought to be treated fairly.

We’ve had 20 or 30 years of arguing about this. Public opinion has evolved, and not because of agitation for an “agenda.” Instead it’s been a period of growing recognition. A growing number of citizens and voters now recognize that they have nothing to fear from people whose lifestyle differs in this regard.

Let us hope that those speaking of a referral come to the realization that the effort, if they make it, will be in vain and accomplish nothing that Oregon needs. (hh)