Less than two weeks after Hillsborough County Commissioners voted against creating a domestic partnership registry, proponents of the measure are holding their ground.
The proposed registry, similar to what has already passed in Pinellas County, would have given same-sex partners more freedom to make financial and medical decisions for their significant others.
In late January, the Hillsborough Commission voted 4-3 against creating a registry.
Supporters of the registry met Tuesday, Feb. 5 to discuss what they are calling a “temporary” setback, according to The Tampa Tribune. Attendees at the event, which was sponsored by Equality Florida, say they will continue to push for the county to enact a registry.
"Hillsborough County is so out of step now with where this region is, where this state is and where this country is," Nadine Smith, Equality Florida’s executive director, was quoted by the Tribune as saying. "This just can't hold."
Do you agree with Smith? Does Hillsborough need a domestic partner registry? Should the commission reconsider? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
I stated in response to an earlier article, "Have the naysayers considered that maybe some of these people have been alienated by their families? Should a complete stranger, even if they are an estranged “family member,” have priority over the attentive loved one to be involved? But that's just me, thinking that equal human rights trump personal beliefs."