Photo courtesy of theliberaloc.com
Gays in Phoenix have been celebrating--to some extend--since yesterday. The city, smacked in the middle of Republican land, has launched the domestic-partner registry.
But before anyone can say, "welcome to the land of Dorothy," reality sets in and the fantasy ebbs. This registry is designed only to provide one, and only one, benefit: hospital visitation rights. Straight, unmarried couples who live together can also register for this same benefit.
So why all the hoopla? In some states, like Florida, my home state (click here for related Florida story), gays cannot even have this basic human right. Advocates of this registry hope that this small step toward equality will lead to giant leaps forward, akin to what happened in California, which started with a limited domestic partnership act of 1999 that gradually expanded to cover a multiple array of benefits, ranging from health to legal adoption of a partner's last name.
All that was progress until the fatal Proposition 8 this past November. For every step forward, it seems as though we take half a step back. Such is human progress. Click here and here for articles on the Phoenix initiative.
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