"Marriage-Like" Ceremonies for NYC Domestic Partners

Although same-sex marriages remain illegal in the Empire State, New York City intends to offer more elaborate ceremonies for same-sex couples who register as domestic partners beginning June 3.

The New York Daily News reports on the new offering from the city clerk’s office.

“The city began registering domestic partners, most of whom are not gay, at the city clerk's offices in 1993. Up until now, the nearly 50,000 domestic partners who signed up received nothing more than a piece of paper.”

The idea of offering domestic partnership ceremonies was provided by Fordham Law School students who worked with the city council’s legal division last year, according to the Daily News.

The majority of the city’s registered domestic partners are straight. The marriage equality bill failed in the New York state senate by a wide margin last year. Same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions are recognized in the state because of an executive order issued by Governor David Paterson in 2008.