Transcripts

BOB KELLEHER: Duluth City Council Member Jeff Anderson introduced Duluth's domestic partner registry in May. That was about the time state legislators dropped statewide domestic partner registration from a spending bill because of opposition from Governor Pawlenty. Anderson, Duluth's only openly gay city council member, says it's time Minnesota cities send a message to the state.

JEFF ANDERSON: I brought this forward because in the state of Minnesota, there is only one city that recognizes domestic partners, and that's Minneapolis. No other city has taken that step forward. And I think at this time in history, it's important for us to recognize that families look much different than they did, say, 40 or 50 years ago.

BOB KELLEHER: Minneapolis became the second major US city with a domestic partner registration back in 1991. But there are big differences between the Minneapolis and Duluth versions. Minneapolis requires most businesses that contract with the city to offer their employees domestic partner benefits, the same as would be offered married employees. It extends hospital visitation rights to registered partners. Councilman Anderson says Duluth's version simply offers an official acknowledgment of the partnership.

JEFF ANDERSON: And I think it's important for a city to recognize that and also to extend an official recognition to make it easier for citizens to access benefits if they have an employer that provides domestic partner benefits.

BOB KELLEHER: For all the fanfare, Duluth's first day of domestic partner registration has been decidedly underwhelming. According to Duluth City Clerk Jeff Cox, no one had showed up by mid-afternoon to register. But his office had received several phone calls over the past weeks from people interested. Two Duluth gay rights organizations contacted last week didn't return phone calls. But the lack of response could be linked to a lack of publicity. The program would start today.

Domestic partnership is often interpreted as a gay rights issue, but Anderson says it's much broader than that. The definition of a domestic partner could as easily be an unmarried heterosexual couple living together. Anderson may have wanted something more along the lines of Minneapolis, but he knows that politically, that would have been much more difficult to pass.

JEFF ANDERSON: I think this domestic partnership registry is a good first step in providing a little more equality to all of our citizens. I would like to see us someday move in that direction. I'd also like the city of Duluth to someday be able to provide domestic partner benefits to our employees.

BOB KELLEHER: By law, Minnesota cities, including Duluth and Minneapolis, cannot extend the same benefits to the unmarried partners of city employees. With Duluth's registration program in place, St. Paul stands to become the third Minnesota city with domestic partner registration. St. Paul Fifth Ward Council Member Lee Helgen is co-sponsoring a St. Paul registry based on the one in Duluth. Like Duluth's, it avoids the requirements under the more comprehensive Minneapolis registration.

LEE HELGEN: As a city, we can't offer domestic partner benefits. We're not allowed to by state law. And so trying to impose that as a condition of our contract just seemed to create a little bit more discussion than what we were really trying to do, which was provide a registry option for individuals.

BOB KELLEHER: Helgen says the ordinance is not just about benefits.

LEE HELGEN: I think it's one way that St. Paul can just demonstrate that we value all families in our community, and that we are a welcoming community, and that we're really interested in the well-being of the families who live here.

BOB KELLEHER: The St. Paul City Council could be taking up that city's new domestic partner registration this Wednesday. Bob Kelleher, Minnesota Public Radio news, Duluth.