The Orange County Commissioners will vote on a proposed country-wide domestic partner registry today. The Commissioner meeting is currently underway.
On May 10, Mayor Teresa Jacobs proposed the Health, Education and Life Protection (HELP) ordinance, which she said “expands upon” the city of Orlando's Domestic Partner Registry.
“The HELP ordinance will provide rights to all residents in the county. This creates a vehicle for widows, widowers, seniors and friends to designate a support person to stand by them in times of need and speak for them when they can't speak for themselves,'' said Mayor Teresa Jacobs in an online post. “We believe this will be the most comprehensive and inclusive ordinance in the nation.''
Some LGBT advocates bristled at the language of the ordinance.
Activist Vicki Nantz responded that the HELP plan was “no help” to Central Florida's gay families, saying Jacobs' proposal “strips” couples registered as domestic partners in Orlando of their status when outside of the city limits.
“Jacobs' proposal”¦ is a designated beneficiary agreement plan, much like the concept suggested to her by anti-gay activist John Stemberger last June, who advocated against recognizing same-sex couples and their families,” Nantz said. “Her new ordinance does not recognize domestic partners and their families whatsoever, and denies them not just their human dignity, but access to a multitude of rights and benefits that are offered by a growing number of employers and businesses, as well as various federal regulations.”
However, on May 22, Jacobs released an amended ordinance addressing some of those concerns.
According to a release from the Orlando Anti-Discrimination Ordinance Committee (OADO), the modified proposal lets unmarried couples, regardless of sexual orientation, choose between the HELP plan or a domestic partner registry.
Watermark is at the county commission meeting. Watch this space for updates as they become available.
