Council to Vote on Establishing Domestic Partnership Registry in University City

The City Council is slated to vote on an ordinance this evening that would establish a Domestic Partnership Registry in University City.

The registry would apply to same-sex partners and other unmarried couples, granting them the same rights as spouses at all U City facilities.

To register a domestic partnership, two adults must share a common residence; consider each other immediate family; affirm that they share responsibility for each other’s common welfare; not be married to a third party; not be part of an existing Domestic Partnership with any third party; and be eighteen (18) years of age or older.

It'll cost $45.00 dollars to register a Domestic Partnership. Both members of the couple must go to the City Clerk’s Office to register.

The Following Are Rights of Registered Domestic Partnership.

To the extent otherwise allowed by law:

• All health care facilities operating within the City shall allow a Registered Domestic Partner the same visitation rights as that provided a spouse or a parent.
• A Dependent of a Registered Domestic Partnership shall have the same visitation rights as that provided a patient’s child.
• If a patient lacks the capacity to make a health care decision, the patient’s Registered Domestic Partner shall have the same authority as that provided a spouse to make a health care decision for the incapacitated party. This pertains to decisions concerning both physical and mental health.
• In any situation providing for mandatory or permissible notification of family members in an emergency or when permission is granted to inmates to contact family members, “notification of family” shall include Registered Domestic Partners.
• Any person who is a party to a Registered Domestic Partnership, pursuant to this section, shall be entitled to visit his or her Domestic Partner, or other family member of the Domestic Partner, who is an inmate at a City correctional facility or juvenile detention facility, upon the same terms and conditions under which visitation is afforded to spouses, children or parents of inmates. 
• All facilities owned and operated by the City, including but not limited to recreational facilities, shall allow the Registered Domestic Partner of a user, and his or her Dependents, to be included in any rights and privileges accorded a spouse and children for purposes of use and access to City facilities.

Mayor Shelley Welsch and  Councilmember Terry Crow both worked on the ordinance and brought it jointly to the the City Council.

“The City of University City has a long tradition of supporting the rights of all our residents,” said Mayor Welsch. “This domestic partnership ordinance is the final piece of the puzzle in ensuring fair treatment for our residents who have chosen to form a domestic partnership."

The City of St. Louis, Kansas City and Columbia have Domestic Partnership registries.

The bill is however essentially a symbolic gesture as it would not be legally binding outside of U City. For example, it says all healthcare facilities in U City will give a Registered Domestic Partner the same visitation and decision making rights as provided to a spouse. U City has no hospital. 

Also, under Missouri law, same sex marriages are prohibited. The state recognizes marriage only between a man and a woman. The state statute on marriage and marriage contracts says that "A marriage between persons of the same sex will not be recognized for any purpose in this state even when valid where contracted."