SALEM, Ore. (ABP) -- Legislators in Oregon and New Hampshire have set up their states to become the latest offering marriage-like legal protections for same-sex couples.

The Oregon Senate voted overwhelmingly May 2 to approve a bill creating domestic partnerships for same-sex couples in the state. The arrangement would allow, on the state level, gay couples to have the same rights and responsibilities as married heterosexual couples.

The Oregon bill now goes to the desk of Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D), who has promised to sign it.

The Oregon decision came a week after New Hampshire legislators made a similar move. Legislators there approved a civil-unions bill that is similarly expected to be signed into law.

The two states would join eight others in offering some level of legal protection for same-sex relationships. Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Hawaii, New Jersey, Maine and Washington offer some legal status for gay couples, although Massachusetts is still the only jurisdiction in the United States that allows same-sex marriage.

The District of Columbia also offers some legal protections to gay couples via a domestic-partnership registry.

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