Officials Delay Vote on Domestic Partnership Law

After two hours of polite but sharply polarized debate, the Long Beach City Council on Tuesday ducked a vote on a proposal that would have allowed unmarried couples to register as domestic partners.

Instead of deciding the issue, the council voted 7 to 2 to ask the city’s Human Relations Commission for advice on whether to extend jail and hospital visitation rights to gay and other unwed couples.

Though posed as a practical matter that would allow domestic partners some rights now reserved for immediate family, discussion quickly pitted some churchgoers against activists from the gay and lesbian community.

“It seems to circumvent the entire purpose of existing marriage laws,” said David F. Copp, staff pastor of Bethany Chapel.

But supporters said the ordinance was simply a fair way to legitimize nontraditional domestic partnerships.

“This is not a threat to people who choose marriage,” said Connie Hamilton, chairwoman of the city’s Coalition for Domestic Partnerships. “It should not be reduced to a ‘we-they’ situation.”

Councilman Jerry Shultz delivered a 10-minute speech during which he listed various homosexual acts before declaring that “homosexuality fails the moral test.”

Similar proposals, including a bill that was vetoed last year by Gov. Pete Wilson, have been attacked nationwide as undermining family values and the institution of marriage.