On September 14, Legislator Jon Cooper (D-Huntington) attended the opening of Suffolk County's domestic partner registry at the County Clerk's office in Riverhead. Cooper, Long Island's highest-ranking openly gay elected official, was the first in line to register, along with his partner of nearly 26 years, Rob. The two have raised five children together.
The opening of the registry is the culmination of a great political and personal victory for Legislator Cooper as he led the successful and long-overdue battle to create a domestic partner registry for both same-sex and opposite-sex couples. A domestic partnership may be registered when either both persons are Suffolk residents or at least one partner is employed by Suffolk County.
The bill, which passed on April 4, 2006 and recently came into effect, was approved after years of watching with great frustration as similar measures were blocked by the Legislature's previously Republican-controlled majorities. Cooper felt great satisfaction as all ten members of his Democratic majority caucus voted to approve the legislation, joined by three of his Republican colleagues.
The registry allows those who qualify to receive a certificate and laminated I.D. cards showing that Suffolk County recognizes their committed, long-term relationships. This new status will facilitate the ability of domestic partners to access health benefits from both private and public employers, and will also allow partners to qualify for such things as hospital or nursing home visitation rights and control over their loved one's bodily remains.
"This is a good day for our families. Suffolk's registry will make it easier to get access to rights New York State provides to domestic partners," said Alan Van Capelle, Executive Director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, the statewide lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights organization. "For instance, the state allows same-sex partners to be together in the emergency room, but they must be able to prove their relationship. The last thing somebody wants to do when they rush their partner to the hospital is to have to find a lease with both names on it, or three documents that show they're a couple. Now just one piece of paper from the Suffolk registry will do that."
"The County Clerk's Office was well prepared to institute this new program after the Legislature passed the Domestic Registry in Suffolk County," says County Clerk Judith Pascale. "My staff has been outstanding in ensuring we adequately fulfill this mandate."
"Now that the registry is officially open, people in committed relationships can have publicly accepted records of their private commitment to each other," says Cooper. "Love makes a family, and it's good to know that this is finally recognized by our County government."
Those interested in registering as domestic partners in Suffolk County can obtain the application by visiting the Suffolk County Clerk's website at www.suffolkcountyny.us/clerk or by contacting the Clerk's office at 852-2000.
