Domestic partners law takes effect Monday

OLYMPIA – In a first for Washington, state officials will on Monday morning start accepting registrations for domestic partnerships. Some couples are mailing the forms in, but many are hoping for a sense of ceremony by registering in person at the sole office accepting the forms: a branch of the secretary of state’s office in Olympia.

The controversial partnerships grant some spouse-style rights to same-sex couples and older heterosexual couples. Here’s some background on the new registry and the arguments for and against it:

Q: What kind of rights are you talking about?

A: There are about a dozen under the new law. Among them, the right to visit a partner in a hospital, to make medical decisions for each other’s care, to inherit property when there is no will, to sue over a partner’s wrongful death and to make funeral arrangements. All these rights – and many more – are automatically granted to heterosexual couples who marry. In the United States, only Massachusetts allows gay and lesbian couples to marry.

Q: Can anyone sign up?

A: No. Partners must share a common home, can’t be married, and can’t be any closer in kind than second cousins. They must be members of the same sex or, if heterosexuals, at least one of the partners must be 62 or older. Signing up costs $50.

Q: What prompted this new program?

A: Many lesbian and gay couples live in a legal limbo. Even after decades together and raising children together, they can be excluded from hospital rooms and funeral arrangements because they’re not spouses or – in the eyes of the law – family members.

Democratic leaders in Olympia in 2006 broke a years-long deadlock and won passage of a bill banning some types of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Encouraged by that long-sought political victory, gay lawmakers, equal-rights groups and their allies pushed hard this spring for passage of a domestic partnerships registry.

After weeks of discussion, state lawmakers in April voted for it 28 to 19 in the Senate and 63 to 35 in the House of Representatives. Gov. Chris Gregoire signed it into law.

Q: Is this like marriage?

A: Not really. Equal Rights Washington, an advocacy group, says that the new law confers only about a dozen of the roughly 1,400 legal rights and protections that come with marriage. Unlike spouses, domestic partners cannot file joint tax returns, qualify for a survivor benefit through Social Security or refuse to testify against each other in court. And unless an employer allows it, partners cannot add each other to their employer’s health insurance plan.

Q: Well, is this a step toward same-sex marriage?

A: Legally, probably not. In fact, the law expressly says “This act does not affect marriage.” But both proponents and opponents agree that there is a broader political effort under way to eventually win the right for same-sex couples to get married, and some advocates see the passage of the domestic partnerships legislation as an indication of growing acceptance toward same-sex unions.

Ultimately, proponents say, same-sex marriage is a question of when, not if. Critics say that most people oppose a change to the traditional idea of marriage – a man and a woman – and that there’s little evidence that that’s changing.

Q: What are the arguments for domestic partnerships?

A: Proponents, including gay and lesbian people, their families and many religious organizations say it’s wrong for government to deny people equal rights simply because of whom they love. Many same-sex couples are raising children together, they say, and the marriage protections that have long been intended to provide a stable, secure home for heterosexuals are no less important for the children of gay and lesbian couples.

“These are emergency protections for our families while we continue to educate the Legislature and the public,” said Josh Friedes, with Equal Rights Washington. “We’re walking hand-in-hand with Washington society right now, and we’re going to move forward with very positive, open dialogue about our families.”

Q: What are the arguments against it?

A: Opponents, including many other religious organizations as well as social conservatives, say the state shouldn’t allow anything that moves Washington closer to same-sex marriage.

“The best environment for children to be raised in is between a married mother and father,” said Cheryl Haskins, executive director of Seattle-based Allies for Marriage and Children. Yes, some same-sex couples are raising children together from a previous relationship, adoption, a sperm donor or surrogate mother, she said, but the couple cannot by themselves have children.

“There’s no procreation, no passing on,” said Danille Turissini, grass-roots director for Bellevue-based Positive Christian Agenda. “A traditional marriage of one man and one woman has worked throughout human history. It’s good for society.”

Haskins also argues that it’s discriminatory to not allow domestic partnerships for others who might benefit, such as elderly sisters living together, or an adult child caring for an aged parent.

“If you’re going to do this, then don’t make it based on who you sleep with,” she said.

Q: Why are senior-citizen heterosexuals included? They can get married.

A: Yes, but for many widows and widowers, marrying would mean losing critical Social Security or pension benefits from the previous marriage. Advocates for the elderly say many cannot afford that.

Q: Can’t couples – gay or straight – get all these rights through legal agreements?

A: In many cases, yes. But many people lack the legal savvy or the thousands of dollars that it can cost. And according to Equal Rights Washington, some of the rights can’t be obtained with any document, such as allowing one partner to sue in the wrongful death of the other.

Q: How many other states have civil unions or domestic partnerships?

A: Six currently: Vermont, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, California and Maine. Oregon and New Hampshire have also approved them, with those laws slated to take effect in January.

Q: How can a person find out more?

A:The secretary of state runs the registration program, with downloadable copies of the forms: www.secstate.wa.gov/corps/domesticpartnerships

“Equal Rights Washington: www.equalrightswashington.org

“Positive Christian Agenda: www.positivechristianagenda.org