History was made on both sides of Tampa Bay June 25, a day after Tropical Storm Debby dropped 10-plus inches of rain on its surrounding communities. The cities of Tampa and Gulfport began signing up couples to their domestic partnership registries.
In Tampa, more than a dozen couples waited outside the clerk’s office. Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn was seen walking through the crowd, shaking hands and congratulating those ready to sign up for the registry, which offers unmarried couples protections.
As promised, City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione was the first to sign up for the registry along with her fiancé, Josh Geary. After Montelione signed, other couples moved forward.
The crowd was a little smaller than what was expected because of the drenching of Debby the day before. Ed Lally, who works with Equality Florida, had hoped to be the first one to sign up for the registry, but thanks to flooded streets, he and his partner of more than three decades were stranded at home.
There were no protestors at the clerk’s office or along the streets outside. Tampa City Councilwoman Yvonne Capin proposed the ordinance in honor of her grandson, Myles Capin Dion, in hopes of making Tampa a place he could be proud to grow up in.
Gulfport, who was hit hardest by Debby, still managed to begin registering partners early on Monday. There, City Councilwoman Barbara Banno and her partner, Jeanne Kunkle, were the first to sign up.
“It’s an overwhelming feeling,” Banno told the Tampa Bay Times. “It gives me goose bumps and brings tears to my eyes.
Banno proposed the ordinance to the city council in April.
The ordinances grant straight and gay couples a set of protections married couples take for granted. That includes hospital visitations, life-and-death decision-making and access to shared children.
