SENATE BILL 2 is now law and is known as THE OREGON EQUALITY ACT.

Below is a copy of the actual letter from Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon – EMO – office delivered to the Oregon Senate during the debate hearings on the floor of the senate. Note the long list of MEMBERS of EMO at the bottom of the letterhead including the Archdiocese of Portland.

ECUMENICAL MINISTRIES of OREGON

Interchurch Center, Suite B • 0245 SW Bancroft Street • Portland, Oregon 97239

phone (503) 221-1054 •fax (503) 223-7007 •Web site www.emoregon.org

To: Oregon State Legislative Assembly

From: Kevin Finney, Public Policy Director

RE: Support for SB 2, and for the current religious exemption language.

Date: March 19, 2007

Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon (EMO) is a statewide association of Christian denominations and interfaith partners, working together to respond to the needs of Oregonians. Our 16 affiliated denominations include Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox bodies. Our mission is to bring together Oregon’s diverse faith community in service to God and creation.

In recent days, we have received several requests from legislators that we review the religious exemption language in SB 2 and make known our sense of whether this language was adequate to protect churches and other religious organizations. We undertook this review with a goal of ensuring that religious organizations be able to conduct their religious affairs in a manner consistent with their most solemnly held beliefs, while supportive of the general anti-discrimination principles expressed in SB 2.

This issue has arisen because the Oregon Family Council has argued that the current religious exemption language is not adequate to protect a church from having to hire a gay or lesbian individual, because, according to the Oregon Family Council the language, “leaves it up to a court to decide what is or is not ‘closely connected with the primary purposes of the church’.”

At first glance this seems like an odd objection to make, because the current religious exemption language in SB 2 closely tracks existing language in Oregon Statutes. ORS 659A.006(2) provides a limited exemption for bona fide religious organizations from the general non-discrimination requirement that already employs the same language.

If this exemption has worked for years, why will it not work now merely because sexual orientation is added to the general prohibition in ORS 659A.030?

Nevertheless, we did decide to look into this matter further and sought advice from a legal expert as part of that review. After conducting this review, we have concluded that the current religious exemption language in SB 2 is more than adequate and that it may, in fact, be counter-productive to try and develop more detailed statutory language.

Generally, in reviewing whether an activity is “closely connected” with the “primary purposes” of a religious organization, courts have tended to be quite deferential to the claims of a religious organization that an activity is “closely connected” to its primary purposes. In reviewing the application of a clause such as the one we are considering, a court will generally consider Constitutional precedent—the legislative intent in enacting the statute—and the specific facts of the case before them. Within those parameters the courts retain some discretion.

The danger with enacting more specific language is that it may remove the ability of the court to defer to the judgment of a religious organization that an activity is closely connected to its primary purpose. We believe SB 2 has struck the right balance. It preserves religious freedom, while moving forward the principle of equal rights that is essential in a free society. EMO urges you to pass SB 2 with the current religious exemption language.

MEMBER DENOMINATIONS

African Methodist Episcopal Church • American Baptist Churches • Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Oregon – Christian Methodist Episcopal Church • Church of the Brethren • Community of Christ – Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon • Episcopal Diocese of Oregon • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America – Greek Orthodox Church • Presbytery of the Cascades • Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) – Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Portland • United Church of Christ • United Methodist Church in Oregon – Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

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