ORLANDO It was a long time coming, but maybe worth the wait. Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs will present a Domestic Partnership Registry to the Orange County Commission during its meeting Tuesday, Feb. 21.
The mayor, who has wrestled publicly with the issue for the past two months, announced over the weekend that she would move forward with the plan, which may mirror that of the registry recently created by the City of Orlando.
Until now, Jacobs had not committed to supporting a domestic partner registry similar to the one currently in use by the City of Orlando. Orlando's domestic partner registry kicked off Jan. 12 and covers protections such as hospital visitation, rights to health care decisions, correctional facility visitation, rights to funeral/burial decisions, guardianship and the right for both domestic partners to participate in the education of their children.
Jacobs declined to adopt the registry alongside the city late last year and alarmed LGBT activists when on Jan. 9, she proposed an alternate to the domestic partner registry”a downloadable form that would allow any individual to assign any resident, gay or straight, to make their important medical, end-of-life, and other decisions. At a subsequent town hall meeting, LGBT activists said Jacobs' proposed alternative was inferior to a domestic partner registry and insufficient to meet the needs of same sex partners.
On Jan. 26, Orlando Anti-Discrimination Ordinance (OADO) members and other LGBT activists met with Mayor Jacobs and her advisors, where they discussed the issue but again, Jacobs did not commit to supporting a registry.
Many of those attending that meeting voiced concern that a DPR would not see the light of day in Orange County. Now, however, it appears that could change, if enough commissioners support it.
Jacobs will present her plan during Tuesdays meeting at 9 a.m. in the Orange County chambers. Supporters are asked to wear red to show solidarity for the measure.
