Couples in the Eyes of the Law : Laguna Beach Ordinance Granting Rights to Gay and Lesbian Partners Takes Effect

Forevermore, Kathryn Turner will remember May 21 as her day of liberation.

Early Thursday morning, Turner and Bivens Hunt were at Laguna Beach City Hall to register as a couple under the city’s new domestic-partners ordinance, the first such law in Orange County granting rights to gay men and lesbians similar to those of married couples.

Afterward, outside City Hall, Turner filled her lungs with air and said in a voice thick with emotion: “I have never felt freer at any time in my life. You can’t know what this means to me.”

All morning, couples of the same sex filed into the brick building and emerged with big smiles. In their hands, they clutched certificates that officially acknowledged their relationships within the boundaries of Laguna Beach.

More than a symbolic gesture, the ordinance gives gays the right to visit their partners in a hospital or jail. It also extends power of attorney, giving a partner control over a companion’s remains and property after death. The same power of attorney, however, is available under state law.

“This does mean freedom for us,” said Mayor Robert F. Gentry, one of the first public officials in the country to openly acknowledge his homosexuality. “This is an historic day in Orange County. It’s an incredible, wonderful feeling.”

Gentry and his companion, Dennis Amick, were the first couple to fill out an application, pay a $25 processing fee and receive certification of their relationship.

Although the ordinance will only hold force in Laguna Beach, Gentry said the document will offer proof of a formal relationship.

“It’s something we can take to an employer to rightly ask for spousal benefits and say: ‘You have been dealing with us differently; give us equal treatment,’ “he said.

Similar laws exist in San Francisco, Berkeley and West Hollywood. But Laguna Beach City Clerk Verna L. Rollinger said city officials from across the United States have called asking for copies of the Laguna Beach ordinance.

The rights granted by the document also extend to heterosexual couples. In particular, senior citizens could become partners under this ordinance without losing their Social Security benefits from a deceased spouse.

Gentry, 53, said that local businesses have contacted him asking how they could implement the new municipal law. Representatives of the Orange County coroner’s office said that they would cooperate if handed a durable power of attorney document.

The law, drafted by Gentry, was passed without controversy by the City Council last month. Despite warnings of a backlash from conservative religious leaders such as the Rev. Louis Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition, a church-backed lobbying group, significant opposition to the ordinance never materialized.

By early afternoon Thursday, a dozen couples had publicly stated their commitment to each other, city officials said. But other couples were simply too frightened to come in, Gentry said.

“They are just scared to death and won’t be here today because their names would be on the public record,” he said. “That’s a sad and frightening thing. That, to me, is what’s immoral.”

A city of 24,000 that is part artist enclave and part bustling oceanside tourist town, Laguna Beach has been kind to liberal politics. The city is also home to a significant gay population.

Led by Gentry, a sympathetic City Council has passed laws to protect that population, including a 1984 anti-discrimination ordinance. Last year, the city gave medical and dental benefits to unmarried spouses of city workers.

The death of Gentry’s longtime companion in 1989 and the difficulty he encountered when trying to claim his body from hospital officials led Gentry to work on the domestic-partners ordinance.

“I never want anyone to go through the pain that I experienced then,” he said. “When I look back over the last 20 years, I can’t believe how far we’ve come,” he said. “Twenty years ago in Laguna Beach, there were undercover officers in the bars and the parks looking for gays. Now, I’m standing in front of City Hall as we’ve taken this large step. Incredible.”

When Ray Unger, 68, and Jack Fontan, 65, moved to Laguna Beach in 1956, it was a little seaside village of about 8,000 people. The two, who are companions of 42 years, were among those at City Hall on Thursday.

“This is long overdue,” Fontan said. “We already have legal protection for each other, but we thought it was a good idea to set an example for the young folks. We don’t like the idea of them growing up thinking there is something wrong with them.”

Visibly excited, Cookie Pelous, 53, and Sydney Simpler, 45, stood together in Rollinger’s office. Minutes after filling out paperwork, they had their certificates and gave each other a long, one-arm hug.

“We need the protection this can give us,” Simpler said, holding up the certificate.

In recent years, a serious asthma condition has forced Pelous to be hospitalized several times. The couple, together for six years, said they have learned to dread the emergency room, not because of its association with Pelous’ attacks, but because it means an inevitable hassle with hospital staff over visitation rights.

“It’s scary,” Simpler said. “I know Cookie is going to do better if I’m there. But I’ve learned to fight, and I just push the button and go through, then deal with (hospital workers) when they want to kick me out. But it’s like a fight to the finish every time.”

For Hunt and Turner, the ordinance granted them a status they took for themselves last month. In April, the couple performed a marriage ceremony.

“What this law says is something we’ve always known,” Hunt said. “We’re family and we’ll always be family.”

Protection for Domestic Partners

With the passage of a domestic-partners ordinance, Laguna Beach became Orange County’s first city to recognize couples living together--both homosexual and heterosexual--in a long-term relationship. Here’s what it means:

Who is qualified: Applicants must be 18 or older and sign an affidavit under penalty of perjury attesting that a partner is a “sole domestic partner” who shares living expenses. But the partners need not live together full time or be Laguna Beach residents.

What is needed: A filing fee of $25 and a completed application form.

Major Provisions 1. All health-care facilities in the city shall allow a domestic partner to visit a patient unless the facility prohibits visitors.

2. The City Jail shall allow a domestic partner to visit an inmate unless the jail prohibits visitors or the Police Department decides a particular visitor is a security threat.

3. A certificate issued by the city may be used to file a durable power of attorney in two areas--health care and the disposition of personal effects at the time of death.

Ending a partnership: A termination statement may be filed with the city clerk by either partner. The statement must include proof that a copy has been sent to the other partner. No person is eligible to apply for a new certificate until six months after terminating a previous one.

Source: City of Laguna Beach