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local elected officials. She felt that, as elected officials, the council had an obligation to step in and make it known that it was important to protect the rights of everyone they represented. Councilor Kelly supported the motion. He stated that the council had taken positions on statewide measures a number of times because of the potential impact a ballot measure would have on the community. He likened it to endorsements that elected officials frequently make. He reminded the council that members of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) recommended the council take a position and the Council Committee on Intergovernmental Relations (CCIGR) had voted, 2:1, to bring it before the City Council. He felt the message was two-fold: that the majority of the City Council opposed Ballot Measure 36 and that the passage of the measure would be antithetical to the human rights values already adopted in the Eugene Code. Councilor Taylor disagreed that the measure in question was State business, instead calling it "human rights business." She advocated for speaking as a group to voice the council's opposition to putting discrimination into the State Constitution. She noted the first Public Forum speaker's contention that marriage was to create children, commenting that she knew many people who married in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. She speculated that these couples would not make children. Councilor Meisner said the CCIGR directed a member to draft the resolutions. He found it ironic that councilors would suggest the council should not take positions on State issues. He underscored that the council helped to craft a biennial legislative document that took positions on the majority of State bills. He suggested that, should the council believe it should not take a stand on State issues, the CCIGR should be disbanded and the City's Intergovernmental Relations staff should be dismissed. He added that, should it look as though it would not be passed, he would move to table the item rather than send a message that the City Council supported the measure. Councilor Nathanson agreed there was precedence for taking a stand on this ballot measure and that it was consistent with work the City Council had done over the past few years. Mayor Torrey was glad the resolutions had been taken off of the Consent Calendar. He said he would not support the motion in event of a tie. He reiterated that he had supported the domestic partner registry but opposed same-sex marriages. He opposed the motion, however, because he thought the City Council should not take a stand on this. He opined that the citizens of Eugene needed to vote for themselves. He likened it to the vote on the Patriot Act, which he felt was an inappropriate piece of governmental work for the council to consider. He recommended that councilors make their individual stands known, rather than taking a stand as a body. Roll call vote; the motion passed, 5:3, Councilors Solomon, Pap~, and Poling voting no. Councilor Bettman, seconded by Councilor Poling, moved to adopt Resolution 4810 to oppose the November 2004 General Election Ballot Measure 37 by the Eugene City Council. Councilor Kelly called Ballot Measure 37 a "descendent" of Ballot Measure 7. He said, while the title sounded like nothing more than simple fairness, the reality of the measure was that it would go far beyond MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 13, 2004 Page 6 Regular Session