Wednesday, February 20, 2013
The bill's sponsor put the statewide domestic partnership registry plan on hold after lawmakers expressed concerns about its constitutionality. St. Petersburg approved its own registry last June.
St. Petersburg couples have been calling for a statewide domestic partnership registry since City Council unanimously agreed to create a registry last June. Now, the opportunity to allow gay and straight unmarried couples some of the legal benefits of marriage at a state level has been stalled in committee. On Tuesday, Feb. 19, the Florida Senate Committee on Children, Families and Elder Affairs tabled a bill that would create a statewide domestic partnership registry. According to WFSU Media, lawmakers expressed concerns about its constitutionality. Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice) said she supports the idea of allowing all couples certain rights, like hospital visitation, according to the report. However, she is concerned about its …
Thursday, February 14, 2013
County commissioner Norm Roche said it would be easier to advocate for a statewide domestic partnership registry than have varying registries at the local level.
The governing bodies of Pinellas County, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Tampa and Gulfport have all passed ordinances within the past year creating domestic partnership registries. Now at least one Pinellas County commissioner thinks the same should be done at the state level before any more communities follow suit. Domestic registries grant couples, gay or straight, to have a certificate that allows them to have most of the same rights as heterosexual married couples in Florida. Those rights can include hospital visitation rights, end of life decisions, childcare decisions, and in some cases, insurance coverage. Up until Jan. 24 when Hillsborough County Commissioners surprisingly voted against creating a registry, no Tampa Bay-area …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
Unmarried couples, gay and straight, in Pinellas will be able to register as domestic partners following Tuesday's county commission vote.
Unmarried couples, gay and straight, in Pinellas County will be able to register as domestic partners following Tuesday's vote by county commissioners, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The legal recognition will give couples the right to visit each other in the emergency room, make health care decisions for each other in a crisis and, depending on their employers, share health insurance coverage, the Times reports. Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve the registry, with Norm Roche casting the dissenting vote. The Times story notes that residents of Gulfport, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, where domestic partnership registries are already in place, the planned $50 fee will be reduced. Those residents will only have to pay the difference between …
Thursday, August 2, 2012
About a dozen couples came to City Hall Aug. 1 to register with St. Petersburg's new Domestic Partnership Registry. Council member Steve Kornell and his partner, Bobby Poth, were the first to apply.
St. Petersburg Council Member Steve Kornell and Bobby Poth, his partner of three years, helped make local history Thursday. The couple was the first to apply for legal recognition as same-sex partners under the city's brand-new Domestic Partnership Registry ordinance. On Thursday morning, St. Petersburg became the latest city in Florida to officially recognize same-sex relationships and domestic partners. Adults over 18, not blood related and in a domestic partnership relationship, are now able to register with the Office of the City Clerk as part of the city's new Domestic Partnership Registry ordinance. Kornell and Poth were beaming as they were the first people called to apply. St. Petersburg’s first official same-sex couple was met …
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Monday, July 30, 2012
In June, City Council unanimously passed an ordinance creating a domestic partnership registry in St. Pete.
Beginning Wednesday, Aug. 1, unwed couples in St. Petersburg can officially register as domestic partners. The domestic partnership registry ordinance was unanimously passed by City Council June 7. The registry gives committed couples, gay or straight, most of the same rights as heterosexual married couples in Florida. "I completely understand the process and concerns, I just find the ironic shame of this, our Constitution said all people are created equal," Council member Charlie Gerdes said at the June Council meeting. "You're (either) equal or you’re not equal. It's a shame we have to pass an ordinance (to) say what equal is." Assistant City Attorney Jeannine Williams said the ordinance grant six rights: The registry also allows …
Thursday, June 7, 2012
The St. Petersburg City Council voted to approve a domestic partnership registry.
Couples in and outside the city of St. Petersburg will now be able to register as domestic partners, after the City Council voted 8-0 today to create a domestic partnership registry. The registry gives committed couples, gay or straight, most of the same rights as heterosexual married couples in Florida. The City Council also approved last-minute changes to the ordinance that let: Council member Steve Kornell said the latter change was important to gay couples, since the state of Florida will not recognize their marriages. "I don’t think these are major changes, but I think they are important changes," Kornell said. Nadine Smith, who was representing Equality Florida, said that passing the ordinance sends the right message to the state …
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Thursday, the council will vote after a public hearing of the ordinance to create a domestic partnership registry in St. Pete.
In May, sitting as the Public Services and Infrastructure Committee, the council voted unanimously to have the ordinance to create a domestic partnership registry be up for a vote by City Council. Thursday, the council will vote after a public hearing of the ordinance. “Whether judgmentally you think it’s good or not, the fact is, 12 percent of America identified themselves as living in this type of situation,” Council member Charlie Gerdes said at the May committee meeting. “Humans are humans, and they deserve equal dignity, regardless.” Assistant City Attorney Jeannine Williams said the ordinance would grant six rights. During May's meeting concerns were expressed about the parental rights and logistics for the registry. Council …
Friday, May 11, 2012
During a Public Services and Infrastructure Committee meeting Thursday, the City Council voted to approve a draft of an ordinance that would create a domestic partnership registry. The Council will vote on the first reading of the ordinance later this sum
The day after President Barack Obama announced his support for same-sex marriage in an interview on ABC, the St. Petersburg City Council took another step toward creating a local domestic partnership registry. By a unanimous vote, the Council approved a draft of the registry during a Public Services and Infrastructure Committee meeting Thursday. The ordinance will now go before the Council for first reading. Council member Steve Kornell said he wants the registry passed in time for Pride month, which is in June. “I think it would be a nice thing for our city,” Kornell said. Council member Karl Nurse said that while a domestic partnership registry is mainly viewed as a benefit for gay couples, he said it also benefits heterosexual couples …
Thursday, April 5, 2012
The St. Petersburg City Council unanimously approved referring the creation of a domestic partnership registry to the Public Services & Infrastructure Committee.
On the day that the Tampa City Council unanimously approved creating a domestic partnership registry, the St. Petersburg City Council officially took the first step to creating its own. Thursday, the St. Pete City Council voted unanimously to refer creating the registry to the Public Services & Infrastructure Committee. The item was brought before the council by council member Steve Kornell. "In my view it’s just the right thing to do," Kornell told the council Thursday. He said if the city could add more equality for its citizens it should do so at any chance it gets. A domestic partnership registry would allow couples, gay or straight, to register with the city clerk’s office. After paying a small fee, couples would receive a …
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Saint Petersburg City Hall
175 5th St N, Saint Petersburg, FL
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Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Council member Steve Kornell said the registry would give equal rights to domestic partners in cases such as emergency care and hospital rights.
Creating at domestic partnership registry could be seen as symbolic, economically smart or fair. For St. Petersburg City Councilor Steve Kornell, it is just the right thing to do. At the April 5 city council meeting, Kornell will lead a discussion with city council about creating a domestic partnership registry in St. Pete and referring the item to the Public Services & Infrastructure Committee. "It's the right thing to do and it (would be) good for the city," said Kornell. "It adds rights for some of our citizens that they don’t currently have." After partners register with the city, Kornell said they would have equal rights when it comes to emergency care visits, end-of-life decisions and even what rights a domestic partner has after …
Diana Kane
2:01 pm on Thursday, February 21, 2013
What is immoral is for those who disagree to stand in judgement. What is immoral is for those who stand on the bible and act they are God. What is immoral and incomprehensible to me is the individuals who have married and divorced and done it again (ad nauseum) to think they have the right to tell citizens like me who has been in a partnership -with the same person - for 23 years that we are … more ›