(Caucus member Terry Fleming in Gainesville)

By JEFF ADELSON

Sun staff writer

Terry Fleming and his partner have been together for nine years, but in the eyes of state and federal agencies, their relationship might as well not exist.

The same-sex couple, unable to marry, is denied benefits ranging from hospital visitation to shared insurance benefits at work, said Fleming, vice president of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida, a gay and lesbian rights organization.

But that could change, somewhat, with a proposal under consideration by the Gainesville City Commission.

A plan to establish a "domestic partnership registry" in Gainesville — which would provide a record of partnerships for same-sex partners as well as some benefits — is being discussed by Gainesville's Equal Opportunity Committee. The City Commission could vote on the proposal in the months ahead.

"When issues of justice and fairness and equality come to light in society, and where our citizens — people in the city of Gainesville — are impacted by that, I believe we have the right, and actually in some instances the obligation, to address that and to provide the full level of equality that we can," said Commissioner Craig Lowe, who chairs the Equal Opportunity Committee and is gay.

Lowe's committee has been discussing the issue for about a year, largely because scheduling issues have kept commissioners from meeting some months, he said. A recommendation laying out the details of a registry is expected to reach the commission in early 2007.

The domestic partnership registry envisioned by the committee would provide a means for same-sex couples to create an official record of their relationship. While targeting same-sex couples, the registry may also be open to opposite sex couples, though they have other means for legal recognition. One of the topics being discussed by the committee is what couples would be eligible.

Being registered would entitle a couple to certain rights, such as visitation rights at hospitals, that can be defined on the municipal level.

There are about 70 municipalities around the country that offer domestic partner registries, including West Palm Beach, Miami Beach, Key West and Broward County in Florida.

In Florida and much of the country, these rights cover an extremely narrow spectrum, as most of the legal benefits bestowed on spouses, such as tax benefits, are set at the state or federal levels.

The registry could also be useful in administering programs offered by some employers, including the city of Gainesville, Alachua County and the University of Florida, that provide insurance and other benefits to same-sex partners just as they are offered to employees' spouses. When UF offered benefits to same-sex partners last year, the administration came under criticism for forcing partners to swear they were in a sexual relationship, a requirement some saw as an invasion of privacy.

Lowe said that although the benefits were not the same as those offered to married couples, they were the best the city could do.

"If I could as a city commissioner, or we as a commission could provide full marriage equality, that's what we'd be doing," Lowe said.

Some national organizations see the issue in a similar light.

"It's not a very comparable alternative to marriage," said Carrie Evans, state legislative director for the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization advocating for gay and lesbian rights. "The rights that cities can provide to spouses, even married spouses, is very limited. Those rights are all federal and often states' rights."

Still, the organization is supportive of efforts to establish registries as a way for cities to offer what rights they can and to put pressure on legislatures, Evans said. This is particularly true in states, such as Florida, that are unlikely to pass laws allowing civil unions or marriage, she said.

"I don't think anybody thinks Tallahassee is in any position to be passing a statewide type of law like New Jersey or California," Evans said.

Because domestic partnerships are not on the same footing as marriage or civil unions, which typically provide the same legal rights as a marriage under a different name, they often do not generate as much controversy as other laws dealing with same-sex relationships.

John Stemberger, head of the Florida Family Policy Council and the leading figure behind a 2008 referendum to have an amendment barring gay marriage added to the state constitution, said it was unclear what his organization's response would be to such a registry. The registries seem "innocuous" because they don't provide any rights to partners that couldn't be established through a contract, said Stemberger, who admitted he was unfamiliar with the concept.

In addition, because the registry did not confer anything rising to the level of marriage, such partnerships would not be prohibited by his organization's proposed marriage amendment, the Orlando lawyer said.

Though the city's discussions of the registry began during the lull in gay marriage debates that followed the 2004 election, the topic is poised to reach commissioners as the issue is again rising to prominence. New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine recently signed into law legislation recognizing same-sex civil unions that provide gay and lesbian couples the same state rights in New Jersey as married heterosexual couples.

Locally, Alachua County Commission Chairwoman Paula DeLaney called on her colleagues to hold a robust debate of gay marriage in her inaugural speech earlier this year.

The timing of the different initiatives was coincidental, Lowe said, but he noted the issues have been gaining prominence in recent years.

"I think we might be coming up on a crest on the issue," Lowe said. "When people see how it's involved and how a same-sex marriage is not threatening to a traditional marriage."

The proposal is expected to receive a generally warm reception from the City Commission, though some said they were uncomfortable with the plan.

Commissioner Ed Braddy said by extending partnership rights, the city was interfering in issues best left to the state government, and argued a system in which municipalities set up differing rules for recognizing partnerships would create problems.

"It's not a federal issue, it's not a municipal issue," Braddy said. "It is and has been a state issue, and I don't see any reason to complicate that."

While he said he did not favor measures that change the definition of marriage, Braddy said rhetoric opposing these measures was often overly dramatic.

"The institution of marriage itself is an ancient institution that has served civilization well, so I'm not anxious to tinker with it," Braddy said. "At the same time, I don't think civilization will collapse if we do."

Although Fleming said he and his partner would sign up for the registry, he acknowledged they would not do so believing they were granted true marriage equality. But, establishing some rights at the local level would be extremely important, both for the benefits it would offer and the symbolic recognition of equality, Fleming said.

"This is about changing the heart of America to show the importance of civil rights for everyone," he said.

FYI: A registry

If Gainesville were to establish a domestic partnership registry, here are benefits that couples might stand to gain by registering:

• The right to make a hospital visit as a family member.
• The right to be a part of medical decisions involving your partner.
• It could provide documentation to allow domestic partner benefits.
• The right to help care for your partner's dependent child.
• The right to be considered "part of the family" when deciding who is eligible for a "family rate."