Another Benefit of Living in Washington, DC

Word of the day: jovian  \'jO-vE-&n Function: adjective: of, relating to, or characteristic of the god or planet Jupiter. 
 

D.C. preliminarily approves sweeping D.P. law
Congress could still veto
By LOU CHIBBARO JR. | Dec 6, 5:49 PM

Domestic partners in the District of Columbia would be granted full rights of inheritance as well as the obligation to pay alimony and child support under a far-reaching bill the D.C. Council approved on Tuesday in a unanimous, “first reading” voice vote.

     

Mayor Anthony Williams is expected to sign the bill granting extensive rights to gay couples if it is approved at its second reading on Dec. 20. (Photo by Rudy K. Lawidjaja) The Council is expected to approve the bill in a required second and final “reading” at its Dec. 20 session. Mayor Anthony Williams is expected to sign the measure. It must then go before Congress for a 30-day review period and would become law if Congress does not veto the measure.

If the bill ultimately wins approval, the level of legal recognition for gay couples in the District of Columbia would rise dramatically over those provided by the city’s current domestic partners law. However, the recognition would not reach the level of other states such as California, New Jersey, Connecticut and Vermont, where same-sex couples are afforded state benefits and rights similar to those available to married couples.

The Domestic Partnership Equality Act of 2005, introduced last February by Councilmember Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), was placed on the Council’s consent agenda.

Nine of the Council’s 13 members, in addition to Mendelson, signed on as co-sponsors.

The bill amends the city’s existing domestic partnership law, which defines domestic partners as two persons at least 18 years old, either of the same or the opposite gender, who live together, are the sole domestic partner of the other, and who are not married.

The decision to leave language in the original D.P. statute that bars married couples, either same-sex or opposite sex, from registering as domestic partners was intended to satisfy some critics in Congress who vowed to overturn any attempt by the District to recognize gay marriage. Some activists have criticized the marriage exclusion provision, saying D.C. should legalize same-sex marriage.

The Mendelson bill provides those who register as domestic partners with at least six benefits, or obligations, that currently are only available to married couples.

Among them are recognition of domestic partners and their children as legal heirs should a partner die without leaving a will; a series of rights and benefits for surviving partners and children equal to those available to surviving married spouses under the city’s property laws; immunity from testifying against a partner in civil or criminal proceedings; legal standing to sue for negligence in the event of a wrongful death of a partner; and the right to make legally binding “pre-marital” agreements.

The pending legislation also provides power of attorney to manage financial, medical and legal matters if one partner becomes incapacitated, and offers protection for private conversations between partners with doctors and religious figures, such as ministers, priests or rabbis.

“This legislation is not about gay marriage,” a legislative report prepared by the Council’s Judiciary Committee stated. Mendelson chairs the committee that issued the report.