On Monday, with Mayor Bob Buckhorn looking on, Carrie West — president of the GaYBOR District Coalition — and his longtime partner Mark Bias became the latest couple to sign up for Tampa's domestic partner registry.
West said it's their 35th anniversary as a couple, and to make it special they opted to sign up for the benefits that a domestic partner registry provides.
Benefits include being able to visit a partner in a hospital, make certain health care decisions for a partner, make funeral and burial decisions for a partner, to be notified as a family member in case of an emergency, and to participate in the education of a partner's child/children.
West, a former Tampa City Council candidate, said he was extremely disappointed in the Hillsborough County Commission's recent rejection of a registry.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 6, 2013.