Rights of straight, unmarried couples top Largo DPR talks

Rights of straight, unmarried couples top Largo DPR talks

If a heterosexual couple decides not to get married, should they still be allowed to register for a few basic rights that married couples enjoy? That seemed to be the crux of the argument during a Largo City Commission meeting earlier this month.

Commissioners debated a proposed domestic partnership registry, and while commissioner Michael Smith and mayor Pat Gerard supported it, other commissioners weren’t so ready to follow in the footsteps of larger cities like Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.

The surprising hold up? The rights of straight citizens who choose not to get married.

“They consciously made a decision not to be married, and we’re affording them rights that are for marriage and without the commitment of marriage?” Commissioner Woody Brown said. “I have a problem with that.”

Smith, who is Largo’s first openly gay commissioner, said the proposed DPR is not a gay/straight issue, but a basic rights issue. Gerard, who supports the DPR, disagreed.

“If my partner was a woman, I wouldn’t be able to get married, and I sure as hell would want these rights,” she said. “It’s about people being able to love who they want. This is pretty basic stuff here.”

City staff brought in copies of the domestic partner ordinances in Tampa and St. Petersburg, which allow a few basic protections to unmarried domestic partners, like hospital visitation, health care decision making and funeral planning.

Putting the city in the middle of such sensitive situations worried commissioner Curtis Holmes, who fears the city could face lawsuits if a registry is approved.

“If we have a domestic partner go to Largo Medical Center and tell them to pull the plug [on a person’s partner], I guarantee we’ll have a lawsuit,” Holmes said. He added that an individual’s family members may not appreciate the city giving such important rights to an unmarried partner.

The commission decided it wanted more information from city attorney Alan Zimmet, who will write an opinion to be presented at a future meeting.

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