Unmarried couples welcomed the month of August by signing up for the long-anticipated Domestic Partnership Registry in St. Petersburg.
Registration began at 9 a.m. St. Pete City Councilman Steve Kornell and his partner, Bobby Poth, were the first to register as domestic partners. The couple, who have been together for two years, were joined by other notables, like Nadine Smith of Equality Florida, who registered with her wife, Andrea Hildebran, and former St. Pete Pride executive director Chris Rudisill, who registered with his long-time partner Jacob Hamm.
Total number of couples registered so far is not yet available but should be released next week.
Those wishing to register can only do so Mondays through Wednesdays at the Clerk’s Office on the first floor of City Hall, 175 Fifth St. N., because of scheduled meetings on Thursdays and Fridays. Those wishing to register are urged to make appointments by calling the office at 727-893-7448.
The law, modeled after one Tampa approved in March, requires health care facilities to allow any registered domestic partner to visit their significant other and make care decisions if their partner is incapacitated. The new law also allows registered partners to direct burials, visit partners at the city correctional facilities, participate in the education of their partner’s children, to be notified in case of a partner’s emergency and to direct their partner’s estates during times of duress.
The City Council unanimously approved the creation of the domestic partnership registry on June 7, the same day a proclamation was read declaring June St. Pete Pride Month. At that meeting, Darden Rice, president of the League of Women Voters, addressed the city council.
“Passing this domestic registry,” Rice said, “would be a love letter to the entire community.”
Residents of neighboring communities concerned about visiting their partners at St. Petersburg hospitals recommended the city take out the law’s city residency requirement.
Council members listened and passed the law without a residency requirement.
Council member Steve Kornell, who is gay, pushed his colleagues to approve the new rules to keep pace with a wave of other cities doing the same.
The cost is to register is $30, payable in cash, check or money order. Both parties must be present to register and a photo identification is also necessary.
