Couple who fought for registry first to sign as domestic partners

[CShine]

Cleveland Heights- At 9:10 a.m. Monday, Nancy Thrams and Fran Twomey signed their names to an official document headed "Declaration of Domestic Partnership." Their signatures marked the first official recognition in Ohio of a gay union. And it signified a pledge to carry the fight for gay rights across the nation.

"It feels great, wonderful," said Thrams, 59, a certified public accountant who lives with Twomey, 48, in Cleveland Heights. "It gives us validation."

Cleveland Heights became the first city in Ohio Monday to establish a domestic partner registry, officially recognizing the union of unmarried couples, gay and straight. The recognition is symbolic. The state does not recognize gay marriages or civil unions between unmarried couples.

Still, a domestic partner certificate, though not a legally binding document, could help an unmarried couple faced with a legal situation. It could be used to prove a couple's union to a private company that offers domestic-partner benefits or to a hospital allowing only family members to visit a patient.

http://www.cleveland.com/cuyahoga/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/1075199427313900.xml

[JoFerret]

1. Congratulations to them

and so the struggle for full legal rights continues.

[arwalden]

2. A Happy happy day...

... even though it's only symbolic, it's a start on the way towards full equality and further away from second-class citizenship.

-- Allen