Arkansas Rejects Ban on
Domestic-Partnership Registries

A bill that would have banned domestic-partnership registries in Arkansas failed to move forward this morning in a house committee. The committee on city, county, and local affairs rejected the proposal in a voice vote.

The bill would have prohibited any county or city in the state from creating a registry that "recognizes a domestic-partner relationship not recognized by the Arkansas constitution, Amendment 83." Amendment 83 defines marriage as a union of one man and one woman, and outlaws civil unions.

Rep. Bryan King, the Republican house minority leader, filed the bill in response to Eureka Springs, a town that began issuing domestic-partnership certificates to gay and straight couples in 2007.

King said the registry in Eureka Springs was an attempt to circumvent the state ban on gay marriage.