Domestic partnerships in District of Columbia
Encyclopedia
Same-sex marriage
in the District of Columbia
was legalized on December 18, 2009, when mayor Adrian Fenty
signed a bill passed by the Council of the District of Columbia
on December 15, 2009. Following the signing the measure entered a mandatory Congressional review of 30 work days. Marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010, and marriages began on March 9, 2010. The District became the only jurisdiction in the United States below the Mason–Dixon Line to allow same-sex couples to marry.
In addition to recognizing same-sex marriages, since 1992 the District has also allowed residents to enter into registered domestic partnership
s; since the passage of the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act of 2009, the District recognizes civil unions and domestic partnerships performed in other jurisdictions that have all the rights and responsibilities of marriage. The law gives the mayor discretion to recognize relationships from states with lesser benefits.
members and spouses to visit their domestic partners in the hospital and jail and to make decisions concerning the treatment of a domestic partner’s remains and estate after the partner’s death.
The measure also grants District of Columbia government employees rights to a number of benefits. Domestic partners are eligible for health care
insurance
coverage, can use annual leave or unpaid leave for the birth
or adoption
of a dependent child
or to care for a domestic partner or a partner's dependents, and can make funeral arrangements for a deceased partner.
and signed into law by the Mayor of Washington, D.C. The bill became law on June 11, 1992. Every year between 1992 and 2002, the Republican leadership of the U.S. Congress added a rider
to the District of Columbia appropriations bill
that prohibited the use of federal or local funds to implement the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act. The law was finally implemented in fiscal year 2002 after Congress failed to add the rider to the appropriations bill.
Since the 2002 implementation of domestic partners, the benefits attached to Domestic Partnerships has been expanded many times. In the Health Care Decisions Act of 2003 domestic partners were given the right to make health care decisions for their partners. The Deed Recordation Tax and Related Amendments Amendment Act of 2004 provided equal treatment, like spouses, of domestic partners for the purpose of paying the deed recordation tax. Expanding benefits further, the Department Of Motor Vehicles Reform Amendment Act Of 2004 exempted domestic partners from the excise tax payable for transfer of title to your partner. And the Domestic Partnership Protection Amendment Act of 2004 amended the definition of the term "marital status" in the Human Rights Act of 1997 to include domestic partners.
The Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2006 was a major expansion of the benefits of domestic partners. The law came into effect on April 4, 2006. This act provides that in almost all cases a domestic partner will have the same rights as a spouse regarding inheritance
, probate
, guardianship, and certain other rights traditionally accorded to spouses. The act also gave the right to form premarital agreements for prospective partners, and for domestic partners to not testify against their partner in court. However, it does not extend most benefits of legal marriage to domestic partners, such as the marital estate tax deduction. At the time of this latest expansion coming into effect in April 2006, there were 587 registered couples.
The District of Columbia Council and Mayor of Washington, D.C., once again, incrementally expanded the domestic partnership rights when in March 2007, the right to jointly file local taxes as domestic partners became law with the passage of the Domestic Partnerships Joint Filing Act of 2006.
On May 6, 2008, the District of Columbia city council unanimously passed the Omnibus Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2008. According to the Washington Blade, "the bill provides both rights and obligations for domestic partners in a total of 39 separate laws that touch on such areas as rental housing, condominiums, real estate transactions, nursing homes, life insurance, worker’s compensation, investigations into child abuse and the police department’s musical band, among other areas," thus "bringing the law to a point where same-sex couples who register as domestic partners will receive most, but not quite all, of the rights and benefits of marriage under District law."
On May 20, 2009, the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act 2009 passed and signed into law allowing DC recognition of other states domestic partnerships and amends DC laws on parentage entitlements and rights to children from adult domestic partnerships. The proposed law became effective from July 20, 2009.
On March 25, 2010, during the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
debate, the U.S. Senate defeated an attempt by Utah Senator Bob Bennett to "suspend the issuance of marriage licenses to any couple of the same sex until the people of the District of Columbia have the opportunity to hold a referendum or initiative on the question".
issued its ruling in Dean v. District of Columbia. In this case Craig Robert Dean and Patrick Gerard Gill, a couple who met all of the District's requirements for a marriage license except for being of the same sex, sought an order to compel the District to issue them a marriage license. The Court upheld a lower court decision denying them the license, finding that the District's marriage statute did not contemplate same-sex marriages despite being gender-neutral, that denying the license did not violate District law against discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation and that denying the license did not violate the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution
.
legalized same-sex marriage, the council voted unanimously (12-0) to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The move was hailed as a possible gateway to legislation of same-sex marriage in the near future. Under the District's procedures, the bill was voted on again on May 5, 2009, passing with a 12-1 vote. The act was signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty
and was subject to a review period, which expired on July 7, 2009 at 12:01am.
On June 13, the Board of Elections ruled that a petition seeking to repeal the law and delay its enactment until a vote was held in a referendum, would be invalid as it would violate provisions of the Human Right Act which specifically disallow the public's voting against several protected classes - one being, sexual orientation.
On June 30, 2009, a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled against a group opposed to the new law, who wanted a referendum on the issue, and had also asked the Court to delay the enactment of the new law until the court decided the full case, and also allowed the voters to weigh in. The group had filed with the Court three weeks after the passage of the new law, Judge Judith E. Retchin ruled "there was no excuse" for them to file their lawsuit so late. She also agreed with the Board's decision that allowing a vote on the issue would violate the Human Rights Act.
introduced the Religious Freedom And Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act 2009 on October 6, 2009 to allow same-sex couples to marry in the district.
On 17 November, the D.C. Board of Ethics and Elections rejected a proposed ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage, saying that the proposed ballot measure "authorizes discrimination prohibited under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act."
On December 1, 2009 the act passed by a vote of 11-2 on its first reading. The second reading was voted on December 15, 2009 where the measure was again passed by a vote of 11-2. The bill received the mayor's signature on December 18 and had to survive a 30-day congressional review period before becoming law. It was considered unlikely that the law would be overturned; and the District government estimated that the law would take effect on March 3, 2010. Marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010.
, the pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland, sued the District after the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics refused to approve a ballot initiative on the issue of same-sex marriage. The Board stated that such an initiative would violate D.C.'s Human Rights
Act. In January 2010, the D.C. Superior Court upheld the board's decision.
On May 4, 2010, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals heard an appeal of the Superior Court decision. Attorneys for D.C. argued that D.C. Council acted within District laws in voting on and eventually passing the legislation. On July 15, 2010, the Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court's decision in a 5-4 decision.
The United States Supreme Court on January 18, 2011, rejected Jackson's appeal without comment.
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
in the District of Columbia
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
was legalized on December 18, 2009, when mayor Adrian Fenty
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty was the sixth, and at age 36, the youngest, mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term—from 2007 to 2011—losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray...
signed a bill passed by the Council of the District of Columbia
Council of the District of Columbia
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...
on December 15, 2009. Following the signing the measure entered a mandatory Congressional review of 30 work days. Marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010, and marriages began on March 9, 2010. The District became the only jurisdiction in the United States below the Mason–Dixon Line to allow same-sex couples to marry.
In addition to recognizing same-sex marriages, since 1992 the District has also allowed residents to enter into registered domestic partnership
Domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal or personal relationship between two individuals who live together and share a common domestic life but are neither joined by marriage nor a civil union...
s; since the passage of the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act of 2009, the District recognizes civil unions and domestic partnerships performed in other jurisdictions that have all the rights and responsibilities of marriage. The law gives the mayor discretion to recognize relationships from states with lesser benefits.
Domestic partnerships
Domestic partnership in the District is open to both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. One of the unusual features of the original bill establishing domestic partnerships was that it allowed partnerships to be created between people who were related by blood (e.g., siblings or a parent and adult child, provided both were single). All couples registered as domestic partners are entitled to the same rights as familyFamily
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
members and spouses to visit their domestic partners in the hospital and jail and to make decisions concerning the treatment of a domestic partner’s remains and estate after the partner’s death.
The measure also grants District of Columbia government employees rights to a number of benefits. Domestic partners are eligible for health care
Health care
Health care is the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in humans. Health care is delivered by practitioners in medicine, chiropractic, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, allied health, and other care providers...
insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
coverage, can use annual leave or unpaid leave for the birth
Birth
Birth is the act or process of bearing or bringing forth offspring. The offspring is brought forth from the mother. The time of human birth is defined as the time at which the fetus comes out of the mother's womb into the world...
or adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
of a dependent child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
or to care for a domestic partner or a partner's dependents, and can make funeral arrangements for a deceased partner.
Legislative history
The original bill establishing Domestic Partnerships in the District of Columbia was known as "The Health Benefits Expansion Act." It was passed by the City CouncilCouncil of the District of Columbia
The Council of the District of Columbia is the legislative branch of the local government of the District of Columbia. As permitted in the United States Constitution, the District is not part of any U.S. state and is instead overseen directly by the federal government...
and signed into law by the Mayor of Washington, D.C. The bill became law on June 11, 1992. Every year between 1992 and 2002, the Republican leadership of the U.S. Congress added a rider
Rider (legislation)
In legislative procedure, a rider is an additional provision added to a bill or other measure under the consideration by a legislature, having little connection with the subject matter of the bill. Riders are usually created as a tactic to pass a controversial provision that would not pass as its...
to the District of Columbia appropriations bill
Appropriation bill
An appropriation bill or running bill is a legislative motion which authorizes the government to spend money. It is a bill that sets money aside for specific spending...
that prohibited the use of federal or local funds to implement the Health Care Benefits Expansion Act. The law was finally implemented in fiscal year 2002 after Congress failed to add the rider to the appropriations bill.
Since the 2002 implementation of domestic partners, the benefits attached to Domestic Partnerships has been expanded many times. In the Health Care Decisions Act of 2003 domestic partners were given the right to make health care decisions for their partners. The Deed Recordation Tax and Related Amendments Amendment Act of 2004 provided equal treatment, like spouses, of domestic partners for the purpose of paying the deed recordation tax. Expanding benefits further, the Department Of Motor Vehicles Reform Amendment Act Of 2004 exempted domestic partners from the excise tax payable for transfer of title to your partner. And the Domestic Partnership Protection Amendment Act of 2004 amended the definition of the term "marital status" in the Human Rights Act of 1997 to include domestic partners.
The Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2006 was a major expansion of the benefits of domestic partners. The law came into effect on April 4, 2006. This act provides that in almost all cases a domestic partner will have the same rights as a spouse regarding inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
, probate
Probate
Probate is the legal process of administering the estate of a deceased person by resolving all claims and distributing the deceased person's property under the valid will. A probate court decides the validity of a testator's will...
, guardianship, and certain other rights traditionally accorded to spouses. The act also gave the right to form premarital agreements for prospective partners, and for domestic partners to not testify against their partner in court. However, it does not extend most benefits of legal marriage to domestic partners, such as the marital estate tax deduction. At the time of this latest expansion coming into effect in April 2006, there were 587 registered couples.
The District of Columbia Council and Mayor of Washington, D.C., once again, incrementally expanded the domestic partnership rights when in March 2007, the right to jointly file local taxes as domestic partners became law with the passage of the Domestic Partnerships Joint Filing Act of 2006.
On May 6, 2008, the District of Columbia city council unanimously passed the Omnibus Domestic Partnership Equality Amendment Act of 2008. According to the Washington Blade, "the bill provides both rights and obligations for domestic partners in a total of 39 separate laws that touch on such areas as rental housing, condominiums, real estate transactions, nursing homes, life insurance, worker’s compensation, investigations into child abuse and the police department’s musical band, among other areas," thus "bringing the law to a point where same-sex couples who register as domestic partners will receive most, but not quite all, of the rights and benefits of marriage under District law."
On May 20, 2009, the Domestic Partnership Judicial Determination of Parentage Act 2009 passed and signed into law allowing DC recognition of other states domestic partnerships and amends DC laws on parentage entitlements and rights to children from adult domestic partnerships. The proposed law became effective from July 20, 2009.
On March 25, 2010, during the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010
The Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 is a law that was enacted by the 111th United States Congress, by means of the reconciliation process, in order to amend the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act...
debate, the U.S. Senate defeated an attempt by Utah Senator Bob Bennett to "suspend the issuance of marriage licenses to any couple of the same sex until the people of the District of Columbia have the opportunity to hold a referendum or initiative on the question".
Dean v. District of Columbia
On January 19, 1995, the District of Columbia Court of AppealsDistrict of Columbia Court of Appeals
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals is the highest court of the District of Columbia. Established by the United States Congress in 1970, it is equivalent to a state supreme court, except that its power derives from Article I of the U.S. Constitution rather than from the inherent sovereignty...
issued its ruling in Dean v. District of Columbia. In this case Craig Robert Dean and Patrick Gerard Gill, a couple who met all of the District's requirements for a marriage license except for being of the same sex, sought an order to compel the District to issue them a marriage license. The Court upheld a lower court decision denying them the license, finding that the District's marriage statute did not contemplate same-sex marriages despite being gender-neutral, that denying the license did not violate District law against discrimination based on sex or sexual orientation and that denying the license did not violate the Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It is the framework for the organization of the United States government and for the relationship of the federal government with the states, citizens, and all people within the United States.The first three...
.
Recognition of out-of-state marriages
On April 7, 2009, the same day that VermontVermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
legalized same-sex marriage, the council voted unanimously (12-0) to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The move was hailed as a possible gateway to legislation of same-sex marriage in the near future. Under the District's procedures, the bill was voted on again on May 5, 2009, passing with a 12-1 vote. The act was signed by Mayor Adrian Fenty
Adrian Fenty
Adrian Malik Fenty was the sixth, and at age 36, the youngest, mayor of the District of Columbia. He served one term—from 2007 to 2011—losing his bid for reelection at the primary level to Democrat Vincent C. Gray...
and was subject to a review period, which expired on July 7, 2009 at 12:01am.
On June 13, the Board of Elections ruled that a petition seeking to repeal the law and delay its enactment until a vote was held in a referendum, would be invalid as it would violate provisions of the Human Right Act which specifically disallow the public's voting against several protected classes - one being, sexual orientation.
On June 30, 2009, a D.C. Superior Court judge ruled against a group opposed to the new law, who wanted a referendum on the issue, and had also asked the Court to delay the enactment of the new law until the court decided the full case, and also allowed the voters to weigh in. The group had filed with the Court three weeks after the passage of the new law, Judge Judith E. Retchin ruled "there was no excuse" for them to file their lawsuit so late. She also agreed with the Board's decision that allowing a vote on the issue would violate the Human Rights Act.
Religious Freedom And Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act 2009
D.C. Councilman David CataniaDavid Catania
David A. Catania is an American politician and lawyer from Washington, D.C. He is currently a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, where he serves as an independent, elected at-large .-Biography:Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Catania is a graduate of Georgetown University's School...
introduced the Religious Freedom And Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act 2009 on October 6, 2009 to allow same-sex couples to marry in the district.
On 17 November, the D.C. Board of Ethics and Elections rejected a proposed ballot measure to ban same-sex marriage, saying that the proposed ballot measure "authorizes discrimination prohibited under the District of Columbia Human Rights Act."
On December 1, 2009 the act passed by a vote of 11-2 on its first reading. The second reading was voted on December 15, 2009 where the measure was again passed by a vote of 11-2. The bill received the mayor's signature on December 18 and had to survive a 30-day congressional review period before becoming law. It was considered unlikely that the law would be overturned; and the District government estimated that the law would take effect on March 3, 2010. Marriage licenses became available on March 3, 2010.
Legal challenges
Bishop Harry R. Jackson, Jr.Harry R. Jackson, Jr.
Harry R. Jackson Jr., is an African American Christian preacher and Pentecostal bishop who serves as the senior pastor at Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland, and serves as a regional bishop in the Fellowship of International Churches...
, the pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Maryland, sued the District after the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics refused to approve a ballot initiative on the issue of same-sex marriage. The Board stated that such an initiative would violate D.C.'s Human Rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
Act. In January 2010, the D.C. Superior Court upheld the board's decision.
On May 4, 2010, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals heard an appeal of the Superior Court decision. Attorneys for D.C. argued that D.C. Council acted within District laws in voting on and eventually passing the legislation. On July 15, 2010, the Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court's decision in a 5-4 decision.
The United States Supreme Court on January 18, 2011, rejected Jackson's appeal without comment.