Gulfport residents push Domestic Partnership Registry

Gulfport It as a sight that has repeated itself over and over in recent months at city council meetings throughout the state: Local families speaking out to council members about the need for a domestic partnership registry to protect themselves.

That's exactly what happened at a workshop in Gulfport on April 19 that was organized specifically to tackle the issue. Several community members spoke to the council about creating a registry that became active in Orlando in January and was recently signed in Tampa by Mayor Bob Buckhorn. The registry allows unmarried partnersâ┚¬â€gay or straightâ┚¬â€to register with the city as next of kin. This allows for hospital visitation, health care decisions, correctional facility visitation rights and funeral planning of unwed partners. Those rights are usually only given to legal spouses or next-of-kin.

â┚¬Å”We're just like any other family,â┚¬Â Denise Lowe told the council during the workshop after introducing her wife, Jan, daughter, Amber, and two grandsons.

While the two women are legally married in Connecticut, their union is not recognized in the State of Florida, so they currently have no rights concerning their relationship. A DPR would help correct some of the discrimination Lowe sees her family suffers in the Sunshine State.

â┚¬Å”This ordinance, although it would help many different kinds of families, it affects us in a very personal way,â┚¬Â she said.

Gulfport has been accepting of the LGBT community for years, and was one of the first communities in Pinellas County to pass an amendment to its Human Rights Ordinance to offer protections to gay, lesbian and transgender people.

Gulfport council members seem supportive of a DPR. However, Jennifer Salmon wanted to be sure a DPR was detailed, so that everyone was protected.

â┚¬Å”The reality is, when you don’t specify, then people actually do not have protections,” Salmon said.

Her fellow council member agreed, saying that adding details from Orlando's ordinanceâ┚¬â€which Tampa used as a modelâ┚¬â€would be ultimately more beneficial.

Gulfport City Attorney Andrew Salzman will draft an ordinance with details from ordinances that already exist in Key West and Orlando and bring it back for first reading at a future regular City Council meeting.