Alex, like you I am skeptical of the theory that the low participation rate is owing to a silent protest of some sort. I wonder where the baseline figure for making a 20% calculation comes from. But even accepting the numbers we're given there are couple of other questions that need consideration before the 20% figure has any substantive meaning. The first would be how many eligible couples know they're eligible. You'd think this was a no-brainer, but how does the state/ community do outreach to the target couples? Another consideration is, are the bennies worth the trouble of enrolling? Payoff is always a factor in determining how many people will undertake any given behavior.

I wish news agencies would be a little more thorough when they go about bandying statistics all over the place.

I'm really curious where they got those numbers from. The only thing I can think of is the census, but that only measured the number of same-sex headed households. So if you don't live together you're not included in that number.

More telling than the 20% figure is the fact that when one county in Oregon started giving out marriages, 3000 people got married in a matter of weeks. But when the entire state makes civil unions available, only 2600 take advantage of it after a year. That's a very significant comparison.

My parents, for example, went to CA to get a civil union, went back to SF to get married, then went to Portland to get married, and after having their marriage dissolved twice, they weren't all that energized about the idea of getting a domestic partnership. They probably wouldn't have made the effort effort except for the fact that I was involved in the opening day stuff.

As for myself, I'll also mention that I'm one of those Oregonian's in a same-sex relationship that's not getting a domestic partnership. I know I've said this before, but since I'm still grumpy I'll say it again -- because I'm not allowed to.

I'm not waiting for a silent protest to get more rights, I'll take any that I can get my hands on. But as it is, the domestic partnership law (like marriage) discriminates against poly folks.

I'm actually in agreement with the author of the story. DP benefits aren't the same as getting married. There's no excitement over "I got to sign a piece of paper to get better benefits!" It would be like celebrating getting insurance at work.

I think you're right when you say if you needed the protections you'd jump on the opportunity. I'd imagine the 20% would agree. The rest, I'd speculate, are waiting for the "real thing."

The 20% is from the Census. The Register Guard quoted this in their story
The total thus far represents slightly more than a quarter of the 8,900 same-sex couples in Oregon, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. By about 2012, roughly half of Oregon’s same-sex couples will be registered for domestic partnerships, predicts the Williams Institute, a University of California, Los Angeles, think tank.

One of the factors not mentioned in the stories, is the historical opposition and legal battles each time marriage or domestic partnership was approved. Even after DP was approved, it immediately went to court, the January effective date was delayed at the very last minute. It was frustrating; many couples plans had to be changed.

After that the opposition began gathering signatures for ballot initiatives for the Nov election. Though, they ultimately failed to get on the ballot, there were a few couples that I spoke with that simply didn't want to go through the process yet again, and have it over turned.

Then there are the legal and tax ramifications of DP in Oregon. If you have wills and other legal docs that you prepared prior to DP, you now have to change them to reflect the DP. This years tax filing requires that you not only submit the joint filing for Oregon, but submit an "As If" (your married) federal tax return with your Oregon return AND file your respective single fed returns. This all adds up to a lot of money and frustration.

I haven't heard a lot of silent protests waiting for marriage. I think for many of us who have been in long term relationships got the DP because we need the legal protections it provides. No matter what, the DP in Oregon is one step forward in the right direction.