city of east lansing

East Lansing is the second municipality in the state of Michigan to offer a domestic partnership registry.

(Courtesy photo)

EAST LANSING -- City Council on Tuesday opted to offer formal recognition to LGBT couples who otherwise have access to no such recognition, making East Lansing just the second municipality in the state with a domestic partnership registry.

Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett first brought the matter before council in August. He said Tuesday's action--council signed off on the registry by a 4-0 vote with Councilman Vic Loomis absent--allows East Lansing to give some recognition to same-sex couples.

"Until Michigan's discriminatory ban on marriage equality is overturned or repealed, this Domestic Partnership Registry is the outer limit of what East Lansing can do to acknowledge and celebrate LGBT couples in our community," Triplett said, referring to Michigan's sweeping ban on same-sex marriage, which was adopted in 2004.

East Lansing Mayor Pro Tem Nathan Triplett

"We owe it to those residents, our friends, neighbors, coworkers, to do all that we can. This ordinance is the next chapter in East Lansing's decades-old commitment to ensuring equal treatment for LGBT families in our community. In addition to providing what acknowledgment we legally can for same-sex couples, this registry is a stark illustration of the inequality that those couples face in Michigan everyday.

"I hope that it will be a catalyst for further efforts to bring marriage equality to Michigan."

On Wednesday, a federal judge is expected to rule on the constitutionality of Michigan's same-sex marriage ban. Triplett said his city's domestic partnership registry will remain valuable even if the state ban is struck down.

"Along with scores of other Michiganders, I am hopeful that (U.S. District) Judge (Bernard) Friedman will strike down Michigan's discriminatory ban on marriage equality as unconstitutional tomorrow. Unfortunately, a favorable ruling will almost certainly be appealed by our anti-LGBT Attorney General (Bill Schuette)," Triplett said.

"Until those appeals are concluded or until Michigan voters repeal the ban on marriage equality in Michigan, East Lansing's domestic partnership registry will provide same-sex couples looking for a means of acknowledging their commitment to one other in their hometown a means to do so."

City officials said the creation of the registry comes at virtually no cost to East Lansing. The city will charge $20 for domestic partner registration for East Lansing residents and $30 for nonresidents.

Triplett noted the domestic partnership registry will have no bearing on benefits offered to same-sex partners of public employees. East Lansing has been offering such benefits to domestic partners since a federal judge in late June struck down as unconstitutional Michigan's law banning public employers from offering benefits to same-sex domestic partners.

"It's essentially a notarized affidavit," Triplett said previously. "Filing this declaration, by filing it, does not give you the rights as a domestic unit.

"This conversation illustrates the absurdity between the treatment of opposite-sex couples and the treatment of same-sex couples," he continued. "It may be purely symbolic, but this conversation we're having illustrates why it's important."

East Lansing has a history of being progressive on LGBT issues. In 1972, it became the first municipality in the nation to ban discrimination against sexual orientation in its hiring practices.

The city of Ann Arbor has offered a domestic partnership registry since 1991.

Follow Brandon Howell on Google+ and on Twitter: @BSHowell88. Email him at brhowell@mlive.com or call him at 517-318-1615. Follow MLive Lansing on Facebook and Twitter.