Toledo Moves Forward

Toledo City Council yesterday approved an ordinance making Toledo the first large city in Ohio to offer gay and other unmarried but committed couples the opportunity to register their relationship with city hall. Under the ordinance, couples will be able to obtain recognition of their "domestic partnership" from the clerk of council.The purpose of the registry is to create an official list which employers can use to verify their employees' relationships when they offer benefits to unmarried partners, supporters said. The measure passed 10-2, with Councilmen Rob Ludeman and Joe Birmingham — both Republicans and both set to leave office when their terms end this year — casting the no votes.Mr. Ludeman gave a detailed explanation for his position, saying among other things he thought it would create a cost burden on city taxpayers because the city could wind up recording the domestic relationships of couples far beyond the city's borders. Such a record-keeping function, he said, should be a county one.. And he cited a "very personal reason based on my faith. This is one more attempt to tear down the institution of marriage between a man and a woman," Mr. Ludeman said.Mr. Birmingham did not explain his vote. Councilman Joe McNamara, who introduced the measure, said the ordinance does not create same-sex marriage, which is banned in Ohio under the 2004 "Defense of Marriage" constitutional amendment that defines marriage as a union strictly between a man and a woman.
Mr. McNamara said the ordinance would tell the business world that Toledo is a tolerant, diverse city. He added that the registry won't cost the city anything, but said it would put Toledo on the map as a progressive city. "I think I was elected, in large part, for trying new things and new ideas," said Mr. McNamara, who was elected to council in 2006.Before the vote, he said, "Toledo sometimes seems to be in a rut. This type of progressive legislation helps our reputation [and] our work force." Present in council chambers to show his support was Lucas County Commissioner Ben Konop, who said he would explore having the county enact a similar measure administratively, although it cannot pass ordinances."We want to make sure this a region that is progressive and protects civil rights," Mr. Konop said.The domestic partnership registry lessens the administrative burden on employers and other entities beginning to deal with providing rights to domestic partners that had been reserved for spouses, advocates have said. In addition to health benefits when approved by employers, a central registry would provide official recognition when domestic partners exercise rights to visit their partners in the hospital and pick up children at schools. The other Ohio city with a domestic partnership registry is Cleveland Heights, on which Toledo's ordinance was based.That city's registry was created after an initiative passed in November, 2003. Since then, 165 couples have registered, some from as far away as California and who applied through the mail. In Toledo, applicants would pay a $25 fee and receive a certificate and a card to carry.Both members of the partnership would sign an affidavit stating that they are in an intimate relationship, share the same residence, are at least 18, are not married to anyone else, and are not blood relatives. The partnership could be dissolved with a notice of termination filed by either party. Neither party could form a new partnership until their previous partnership has been officially terminated or the previous partner dies. Michelle Stecker, a lawyer who helped write the ordinance, said she and her partner, Carol Bresnahan, vice provost of the University of Toledo, secured partner benefits, but then struggled over how to prove their relationship, even though they own a house together and share their financial assets. They ended up using their health club membership as evidence of their relationship.Yesterday was their seventh anniversary as a committed couple, and they hope to be the first to register as domestic partners in Toledo, Ms. Stecker said. "We need to have something that's uniform where all these different public and private entities can say, 'Yes, they are a couple,' to have access to emergency rooms and other domestic partner benefits," Ms. Stecker said. She said she has worked on the legislation for more than a year.Ms. Bresnahan said, "I think it's exactly the right thing to do. It's very consistent with what the city wants to do, which is attracting talented people to come to Toledo and to stay here if they already live here." The ordinance received fast-paced consideration from a council that often subjects controversial measures to months of discussion.The proposed ordinance was introduced in council's agenda review meeting just a week before yesterday's vote. In a hearing on Friday, city Law Director John Madigan told council's law and criminal justice committee that the registry would not violate the "Defense of Marriage" amendment.Mr. McNamara noted that the city's Department of Human Resources maintains a domestic partnership registry for city police officers and firefighters who have negotiated benefits in their collective bargaining agreements to take sick leave or funeral leave for domestic partners as they do for immediate family. Contact Tom Troy at:tomtroy@theblade.comor 419-724-6058.