Domestic Partner Registry Breezes Past First Checkpoint

A proposed domestic partner registry sailed through its first reading before the Hopkins City Council on Tuesday.

Council members unanimously signed off on a proposal that has so far faced no opposition. Tuesday’s brief discussion merely covered the process of implementing a registry—and concerns about how to deal with privacy issues.

The ordinance will return for a second reading Sept. 27, when the City Council will also take up a resolution establishing a fee to sign up for the registry. Assistant City Manager Jim Genellie said a fee in the $25 range would probably be sufficient.

A domestic partner registry would allow unmarried couples—both same-sex and opposite-sex—to certify their relationships with the city. Under the current language, both people in the relationship would have to live in Hopkins to sign up for the registry.

Council members previously discussed opening the registry to any cohabitating couple that had at least one person working in Hopkins. They chose the narrower option because they view the registry as a service to Hopkins residents.

Supporters say domestic partner registries make it easier for these couples to obtain hospital visitation rights and benefits from employers that offer domestic partner benefits.

Yet registries are perhaps mostly a symbolic vote in support of same-sex marriage while actual marriage remains off the table for gay and lesbian couples. Council members have repeatedly noted that a registry would signal that Hopkins is a community that welcomes all people.

Hopkins grad Peter Boisclair—now a student at Northland College, in Ashland, WI— the registry back in July.

It would not compel any employer to offer domestic partner benefits.