Should Florida Counties Allow Domestic Registry?

St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Gulfport already have their own local domestic registries recognizing same-sex marriages.

Now Pinellas County expects to vote in 2013 on a proposal for a countywide domestic registry that grants domestic partners – gay and straight – many of the same rights as married couples.

A public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15.

Although domestic registries are catching on across the nation, from Key West to Kansas City, Florida has a constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union between a man and a woman.

Should Pinellas County, Florida, adopt a domestic registry? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Even as Florida counties adopt domestic registries, the state will not recognize them. Do you agree? Leave your views in the comments below.

The provision would allow, in part, domestic partners to make health care decisions for each other, including for end-of-life care, among other things.

Should domestic partners be granted rights now given only to men and women who are married? What do you think?