Decatur Metro » Domestic Partnership Registry

Decatur Set To Create Domestic Partnership Registry

Decatur Metro | December 16, 2013

Last month, Decatur received a low score from the Human Rights Campaign Municipal Equality Index, which was based on a variety of different municipal offerings and actions. A debate ensued about the accuracy of such a rank, and it was noted by the City Manager that some criteria that Decatur didn’t meet were due to it’s small size. But one thing that was revealed when looking closely at the data was that Decatur didn’t have a Domestic Partnership Registry, while smaller cities, like neighboring Avondale Estates, did.

Now, just a month later, Decatur seems to be remedying this. Tonight, the Decatur City Commission will vote on creating a Domestic Partnership Registry. From a letter submitted to the Commission by Asst. Manager Lyn Menne…

Currently the State of Georgia does not recognize domestic partnerships. The creation of a local registry allows us to provide local recognition of domestic partnerships that exist between City of Decatur residents. The attached resolution establishing a local domestic partnership register has been reviewed and approved by the city attorney.

A local domestic partner registry allows our residents to register their partnership with the Decatur City Clerk and receive a certificate confirming that their partnership is recognized by the City of Decatur. A sample of the registry page and the certificate is attached for your review.

I recommend that the Decatur City Commission approve the attached resolution establishing a local domestic partnership registry for City of Decatur residents and authorizing the city clerk to maintain a domestic partnership registry and issue certificates in recognition of this registration.

You can read the full ordinance HERE.