As Washingtonians wrap up their balloting on expansion of domestic partnerships, south of the border in Oregon, advocates of same-sex marriage are launching a multi-year effort to overturn a state constitutional ban on gay marriage.

The Oregonian newspaper’s coverage is here  and political blogger Jeff Mapes’ post is here .

Washington is one of many states with a Defense of Marriage Act that defines marriage as the union of a man and a woman.  Referendum 71 on Tuesday’s statewide ballot is a public vote on this year’s major expansion of the state’s three-year old law dealing with rights and responsibilities of state-registered domestic partners, both gay and opposite sex couples where at least one member is 62 or older.  The measure, sometimes dubbed “everything but marriage,” does not authorize civil or religious marriage or allow counties to issue marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples.