- Chip Weiner
- This couple celebrated in Tampa after registering as domestic partners.
Following along the lines of other local governments in the past year, the Pinellas County Commission today voted 6-1 to set up a domestic partnership registry that would grant unmarried couples the right to make health care and funeral decisions for each other, as well as visit each other in the hospital.
Commissioners did find it necessary to explicitly spell out, however, that "nothing in this Ordinance shall be construed as recognizing or treating a domestic partnership as a marriage."
Although such partnerships have been crafted in other cities and states for years, it was the passage of a registry by the city of Orlando that led local governments in the Bay area to follow suit, the first being Tampa in May of 2012.
Tampa City Councilwoman Yolie Capin introduced a proposal for a registry nearly a year ago, saying that she had read about Orlando's ordinance. After Tampa, St. Pete quickly followed suit, followed by Largo and Gulfport.
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2013.