Washington
State gay couples line up for new rights

Dozens of Washington State gay and lesbian couples lined up to register as domestic partners Monday as a new law went into effect.

The secretary of state's office registered the first couple shortly after opening its doors at 8 a.m.

Couples that register as domestic partners get enhanced rights, including hospital visitation, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations, and the ability to inherit in the absence of a will. They won't get all the rights that traditionally married couples have, though, and the state's registry does not confer as many rights as civil unions offer to gay couples in other states.

In order to register, couples must share a home, not be married or in a domestic relationship with someone else, and be at least 18.

The state supreme court last year upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage, ruling that state lawmakers were justified in passing the 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which restricts marriage to unions between a man and woman. The legislature approved the new domestic partnerships this spring.

In a provision similar to California law, unmarried heterosexual senior couples also are eligible for domestic partnerships if one partner is at least 62. Lawmakers said that provision was included to help seniors who are at risk of losing pension rights and Social Security benefits if they remarry. (AP)