Laguna Votes Equal Rights to Gay Couples

Orange County’s first “domestic partnerships” ordinance, a city law that would grant gay and lesbian couples some of the same rights enjoyed by husbands and wives, was unanimously approved by the Laguna Beach City Council on Tuesday.

After a half-hour discussion--with no opposition from members of the audience--the council gave its preliminary approval to the law, which is designed to give partners such privileges as visiting their companions in the hospital or making funeral arrangements for a loved one.

“It’s a compassionate measure for the city to pass and it fills a significant void,” said Johanna Felder, president of Village Laguna, the city’s most powerful political group.

Laguna Beach has a sizable homosexual community, and about a dozen supporters of the community attended the meeting.

“We need rituals. We need ordinances. We need ceremonies. We need this kind of thinking,” said Richard A. Ammon, a clinical psychologist who works and lives in Laguna Beach.

The bill was proposed by Mayor Robert F. Gentry, whose companion of 15 years died of AIDS in 1989. Gentry, who said he had difficulty claiming his companion’s body from a Newport Beach hospital, said the law is needed to provide “recognition and validation” for couples whose relationships have not previously been formally recognized.

Gentry said he hopes Laguna’s law becomes “a model ordinance for other cities and the country.” The citywide law would allow homosexual couples, as well as unmarried heterosexual couples, to register for a certificate that could be shown to officials at hospitals or jails to gain entry when only family members are allowed to visit. Partners could also present the document to employers to attempt to gain medical benefits for their companions, Gentry said.

City Atty. Philip Kohn said the ordinance would not be legally binding outside Laguna Beach. However, supporters of the law said it would at least give partners some paperwork to show that they are in a committed relationship.

Had this ordinance been in effect when Gentry’s companion died, the certificate might have been recognized at the Newport Beach hospital, Kohn said. As it was, the body was released to Gentry only after his attorney called the hospital.

Kohn said he had not talked to any county officials to determine whether the coroner’s office intends to recognize the law.

Gentry, who was praised by two fellow council members for proposing the law, invited residents from throughout the state to register as domestic partners, although they may have to pay a higher fee. Laguna residents would be charged $25.

Final approval of the law is expected at the April 21 City Council meeting.

The ordinance was hailed by gay rights activists who say such laws provide both legal and moral support for couples who attempt to form lasting relationships with members of the same sex. Some residents also said it could be a boon for senior citizens who choose not to remarry.

“There’s so much negative impact from our society (against homosexuals) that it tends to make couples doubt the bonding of their relationship,” psychologist Ammon said.

Conservatives, however, say such an ordinance is unnecessary and detrimental to society.

The Rev. Lou Sheldon, chairman of Traditional Values Coalition, an Anaheim lobbying group that represents several Orange County churches, said in an interview from Sacramento on Tuesday that the ordinance attempts to redefine the family in a way that will be unacceptable to most people.

No one from Sheldon’s coalition attended Tuesday’s council meeting.

Sheldon predicted a backlash to the council’s action and said that final approval of such a law could prompt a referendum to block the ordinance.

“The point is, this ordinance elevates homosexuality to a level of acceptance that society basically isn’t going to go for,” Sheldon said. “It opens up a whole new array of issues concerning whether homosexuality is a viable life alternative. And of course the answer is no, it isn’t.”

The Laguna Beach City Council has traditionally acted to protect the rights of its gay population. In 1984, the council passed a law to protect gays and lesbians from discrimination. Last year, the city extended medical and dental benefits to unmarried partners of city employees.

To apply for a domestic partnership certificate, both partners would have to be at least 18 years old, be the “sole domestic partner” of one another and be “jointly responsible for their common care, welfare and basic living expenses.”

“I hope we’ll be the first couple to register,” said Dennis Amick, Gentry’s companion for the past 2 1/2 years. “Seeing that he’s mayor this year, I think it would be great.”

While San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood have similar laws, Gentry said the Laguna Beach ordinance is unique because it does not require partners to live together.