Domestic partnership in District of Columbia

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Washington, D.C., has recognized domestic partnerships since 1992. However, according to the D.C. Department of Health, ^[1]

Congress prohibited the District from spending any local funds to implement the law. The prohibition was lifted in the federal appropriations act for the District for the 2002 fiscal year

Domestic partnership in the District is open to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. All couples registered as domestic partners are entitled to the same rights as family members to visit their domestic partners in the hospital and to make decisions concerning the treatment of a domestic partner’s remains after the partner’s death.

The measure also grants District of Columbia government employees rights to a number of benefits. Domestic partners are eligible for health care insurance coverage, can use annual leave or unpaid leave for the birth or adoption of a dependent child or to care for a domestic partner or a partner's dependents, and can make funeral arrangements for a deceased partner.

By December 2005, 554 couples had registered; 479 were same-sex and 75 were opposite-sex.^[2]

The Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2006, D.C. Law 16-79, came into effect on April 4, 2006. This act provides that in almost all cases a domestic partner will have the same rights as a spouse regarding inheritance, probate, guardianship, and other rights traditionally accorded to spouses. ^[3]

British law does not recognize District of Columbia domestic partnerships as equivalent to civil partnerships in the United Kingdom.

[edit] References

1. ^ http://dchealth.dc.gov/doh/cwp/view,a,3,q,573324,dohNav_GID,1787,dohNav,|33110|33120|33139|.asp#6
2. ^ http://www.buddybuddy.com/d-p-reg.html "Registration for Domestic Partnership," Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples
3. ^ http://dchealth.dc.gov/doh/cwp/view,a,3,q,573324,dohNav_GID,1787,dohNav,|33110|33120|33139|.asp#6

[edit] External links

• DC Department of Health
• Vital Records Division, Domestic Partnership Information
• "District of Columbia Marriage/Relationship Recognition Law," Human Rights Campaign
• "Rights and Responsibilities of Domestic Partners in the District of Columbia," Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance of Washington, DC, revised April 3, 2006
• "Registration for Domestic Partnership," Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples

Same-sex civil unions

Recognized nationwide in:

Denmark (1989) | Norway (1993)

Israel1 (1994) | Sweden (1995)

Greenland (1996) | Hungary1 (1996)

Iceland (1996) | France (1999)

Germany (2001) | Portugal (2001)

Finland (2002) | Croatia1 (2003)

Austria1 (2003) | Luxembourg (2004)

New Zealand (2005) | United Kingdom (2005)

Andorra (2005) | Czech Republic (2006)

Slovenia (2006) | Switzerland (2007)

Colombia (2007)

Was recognized before legalization of same-sex marriage in:

Netherlands (nationwide) (1998)

Spain (12 of 17 communities) (1998)

South Africa2 (1999)

Belgium (nationwide) (2000)

Canada (QC, NS and MB)3 (2001)

Recognized in some regions in:

United States (6 states+DC) (1997) : CA, CT, HA, ME, NJ, VE

Argentina (Buenos Aires, Rio Negro) (2003)

Australia (Tasmania) (2004)

Italy (Some municipallies) (2004)

Brazil (Rio Grande do Sul) (2004)

Mexico (Mexico City and Coahuila) (2007)

Recognition debated in:

Argentina

Australia

Austria

Brazil

Chile

Costa Rica

Greece

Ireland

Italy

Liechtenstein

Mexico

Poland

Taiwan

United States

Uruguay

Notes:

1 - In form of unregistered cohabitation.

2 - Explicitly referred to as the "civil unions Act" in South Africa.

3 - Explicitly referred to as "civil unions" in Quebec (2002), and called "domestic partnership" in Nova Scotia (2001). In Manitoba (2002) and marriage extended to same-sex partners nationwide (2005).

See also

Same-sex marriage

Registered partnership

Domestic partnership

Common-law marriage

Marriage, unions and partnerships by country

Homosexuality laws of the world

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Same-sex marriage in the United States This box: view • talk • edit

Legalized: Massachusetts Law proposed: Connecticut - Illinois - Maine - New Jersey - New York - Rhode Island  Civil unions permitted: Connecticut - New Jersey - Vermont  Domestic partnerships permitted: California - District of Columbia - Hawaii - Maine Prohibited by statute: Arizona - Connecticut - Delaware - Florida - Illinois - Indiana - Iowa - Maryland - Minnesota - New Hampshire - New York - North Carolina - Pennsylvania - Puerto Rico - Washington - West Virginia - Wyoming Prohibited by constitutional amendment: Alabama - Alaska - Arkansas - Colorado - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana - Michigan - Mississippi - Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - North Dakota - Ohio - Oklahoma - Oregon - South Carolina - South Dakota - Tennessee - Texas - Utah - Virginia - Wisconsin Marriage undefined: New Mexico - Rhode Island

[edit] See also

• Same-sex marriage in the United States
• Same-sex marriage legislation in the United States
• Same-sex marriage in the United States by state
• Same-sex marriage in the United States public opinion
• Same-sex marriage status in the United States by state
• List of benefits of marriage in the United States
• Defense of Marriage Act
• Marriage Protection Act
• Defense of marriage amendment
• Federal Marriage Amendment
• Domestic partnerships in the United States
• Freedom to Marry Coalition
• History of civil marriage in the U.S.