Friday, August 16, 2002
New York City council extends domestic partner rights visiting couples
A story released today by Newsday.com reports that the New York City
Council voted yesterday to extend domestic partnership status to couples who
come to the city with a similar status back home.
Councilwoman Christine Quinn (D-Manhattan), one of the bill's sponsors, said
the legislation would require the city to treat domestic partners from out
of town the same way as it treats city residents.
If one of the pair was hospitalized, for example, the partner would be
treated as a spouse for visiting purposes, she said.
Also, if the couple were registered as domestic partners elsewhere, they
would bring that status here, just like a marriage license, and would not
have to establish residency for one year, she said.
The bill must be signed by Mayor Michael Bloomberg; a spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on his stance on the bill.
The measure passed 34-7. Brooklyn Democrat Simcha Felder was among the dissenters. ``I believe that a broad spectrum of New Yorkers would find this legislation to be morally offensive,'' Felder said.
Felder, an Orthodox Jew, said he objected to the use of the word "marriage" several times in the bill and was against gay marriages on moral grounds.
