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Progress or `empty gesture'? Ashland's domestic partnership registry decision comes before council Tuesday By Dani Dodge ASHLAND -- On Tuesday, Ashland could become the first city in the state to register gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples as domestic partners -- but the decision won't come without fireworks. How the registry would work The Ashland City Council will discuss voluntary registration for domestic partners at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Civic Center council chambers. Here's how the registration would work: A couple would need to make several declarations to register for the certificate of domestic partnership: They are co-habitating, sharing the common necessities of life, are unmarried, are both at least 18, are not related, are mentally competent and are "each other's sole domestic partner and intend to remain so indefinitely and are responsible for each other's common welfare." The couple could choose to make the partnership public or keep it private. Public partnerships would be registered with the city. Those who chose to keep the documentation private would take the paperwork with them, and the city would maintain numbers only for statistical purposes. The cost of the documentation would be $25. The domestic partnership would end with the death of a partner, or if one or both partners file for termination (at a cost of $25). The registry would not be limited to Ashland residents or same-sex couples. Advocates of the measure say they've gotten enthusiastic expressions of approval from five council members. They didn't even approach the sixth -- Cameron Hanson. "I'm opposed to the registry," Hanson said. "The city shouldn't be in the business of advocating homosexual lifestyle." He called the move an empty gesture that offends him as a conservative Christian. But Mayor Cathy Shaw said the registry would be a significant symbolic move. "The importance of this resolution really resides with the people who hold it in their hands," she said. "It's easy for me ... because I can choose to be married, but in the state of Oregon, some people in lifelong loving relationships don't have that option. "If they want a governing body in some way to sanction that -- if that's important to them, then it's certainly not an empty gesture." The council began considering the registry last month after a request by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Political Caucus of Southern Oregon. The registry would allow "domestic partners" -- two unmarried people age 18 or older who live together -- to officially document their relationship. Under Oregon law, same-sex couples cannot marry. Advocates for the registry say it would allow unmarried couples to take advantage of family benefits offered by businesses and gain visitation rights at hospitals, although several local hospital spokeswomen said it was not an issue. Also, the registry would acknowledge the relationships and establish Ashland as a "diversity-conscious community," supporters say. "I think it sends the message of safety -- a certain measure of safety that couples seek," said Rosemary Dunn Dalton, the president of the caucus. She estimated that 50 couples would register in the first year and 20 or so a year after that. And although this would be a first for Oregon, around the country more than 30 cities and counties register domestic partners. Berkeley, Calif., a university town of 107,000, has been registering domestic partners since 1991. A spokeswoman there said the city registers 14 to 20 couples a month. Ashland city staff members are recommending the council adopt the registry at Tuesday's meeting. City attorney Paul Nolte said the resolution would have little effect on the city. Ashland city employees, like all public employees in Oregon, already are able to get insurance benefits for their domestic partners just as if they were married. "A registry program, in and of itself, does not grant legally recognizable benefits to anyone nor does it impose any legal obligations," Nolte wrote in a memo. "Since the state of Oregon controls the manner and method by which marriages are recognized, a Certificate of Domestic Partnership is not the same as a marriage license." Nolte said, though, the broader impact would be in how private employers and service providers view the partnership documentation. Hanson said the feedback he's gotten to the proposal has been almost entirely negative. Yet Shaw said she's gotten an overwhelming number of people who are excited about the registry and only one in opposition. Bed and breakfast owner Terri Mensch said she believes the registry chips away at the sacred institution of marriage. "I don't consider myself a member of the Moral Majority, or someone out there shaking my Bible telling them they will all go to hell, but I personally feel like this is a step towards marriage for gays and lesbians," she said. "At the beginning of our marriage vows, the priest declared it was a sacrament between man and woman." Shaw said, though, she would have no problem if the state did sanction marriage between gay and lesbian couples. In the meantime, Ashland can at least offer the registry. "I really see our role in government to help people realize their dreams," she said. "If that means opening up to gay and lesbian groups who want a government seal on a piece of paper that makes more official their commitment to one another, I say, `Sure, why not?" But Hanson said he hopes his opposition will give people the courage to speak out against the move, even though Ashland has historically shown support for gay and lesbian issues. Voters opposed statewide anti-gay rights measure sponsored by the Oregon Citizens Alliance in the early 1990s, and adopted city ordinances banning discrimination against homosexuals. "The homosexual community has a reputation for being very loud and overbearing and some people don't want to go against them," Hanson said. "I would hope that people who do not go along with the city on this will stand up and be recognized." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA