City Clerks Will Conduct Domestic Partnership Ceremonies

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Starting June 3rd, the City Clerk's office will begin performing marriage-like services for couples registering for a Domestic Partnership—about 30% of whom are gay. Up until now, any couple applying for a Domestic Partnership would just receive a piece of paper signifying their commitment. City Clerk Michael McSweeney told the Daily News, "We thought it was a good idea."

The idea originally came from some Fordham Law students who were working with the City Council's legal division last year, and the suggestion gained support from pols and gay-rights activists. Joseph Hagelmann, president of the Stonewall Democratic Club, said, "Sounds like a small step in the right direction. But we're not going to be happy until we have full marriage equality." Domestic Partnerships don't offer benefits like inheritances or confidentiality privileges that marriages do, but if one partner is a city employee the other can be eligible for the same health insurance. Partners are also granted hospital visitation rights.

The clerk's office first introduced Domestic Partnership registration in 1993, to recognize "the diversity of family configurations, including lesbian, gay, and other non-traditional couples." They've had about 50,000 registrations since then.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on May 17, 2010 12:51 PM

Comments [rss]

Radbecca

FYI, if any couples out there would like to have a 'spiritual' ceremony, the Church of Radbecca is licensed to marry folks -- gay, straight, amphibious, whatever. Let me know. Thanks.

S.K.

Only 30 percent of domestic partnerships are gay? Perhaps more straight people should try it. Considering how difficult and expensive it is to divorce in New York, perhaps a domestic partnership is easier to dissolve than a marriage.

Eastjabip

Why would I want to get a "domestic partnership" when when MARRIAGE is what I really want? Its not ANY step in ANY direction, unless of course, domestic partnership is what you desire. Straight couples have the option of both. Even if it is Britney Spears in Las vegas high on crystal meth, she can still getm arried for 2 and 1/2 days.

Radbecca

But she married a boy from Hammond, La. That made it special.

learnedhand

+1,000,000 more.

This is insulting. It's like they're patting us on the head saying, here, you can have a ceremony little gay, now run along.

My partner and I got our DP years ago with no fanfare, because frankly, it deserves none -- the minor, limited rights it gives us aren't anywhere near the thousand+ rights that come along with marriage. Performing some half-assed ceremony isn't going to change that.

longacre

This was likely an administrative decision, in part to boost revenue at the newly renovated marriage bureau in the municipal building. The gay marriage question is above their pay grade.