Monday, July 22, 2002

A story published today by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that St. Louis' domestic partnership program is suffering from lack of interest. When the program started five years ago, 33 couples signed up for the symbolic gesture.

The St. Louis domestic partnership registry opened in March 1997, but in the past five years, only 135 couples - 69 pairs of women, 63 pairs of men and three heterosexual couples - have made their relationship official.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there were about 9,800 households in St. Louis occupied by unmarried couples, of which 1,300 were same-sex couples.

Although the domestic partnership registries tend to be more popular with same-sex couples, many registries - such as the one in St. Louis - also are open to unmarried heterosexual couples.

Some say the city hasn't done enough to promote the program. Some say the program suffers because only city residents can apply. And others say simply that more same-sex couple residents need to register.

Out of the 135 partnerships, 27 officially terminated within five years - about 20 percent. That's the same percentage of terminations in five years as traditional male-female marriages, according to a 2001 study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

St. Louis is one of 48 cities, six counties and two states that offer domestic partnership programs, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a national advocacy group. Most of those programs are similar to St. Louis', a mainly symbolic gesture that allows same-sex couples to receive a certificate.

The certificate doesn't mean the registrants can file taxes as a couple or receive almost any of the benefits awarded those with an official marriage certificate. It means they receive visitation rights awarded to immediate family at St. Louis hospitals and prisons. It means they can apply for health insurance coverage in companies that offer domestic partner benefits.

"The range is from largely symbolic to having the benefits and obligations that come with marriage," said Samuel Marcosson, a professor of law at the University of Louisville who specializes in civil rights. "None of them can bring with them the sorts of benefits in the workplace that come with the simple status of being married."

He said the programs had a large impact in showing employers and the government that domestic partnerships are part of the norm of society. Many large companies, such as American Express and Southwestern Bell, offer domestic partnership benefits.