Last week, domestic partnership registries unanimously passed in two more local Florida governments. On Tuesday, March 12, the Venice City Council passed the measure, and the Leon County Commission followed suit the next day.
Meanwhile, advocates for Equality Florida are working to overturn the Hillsborough County Commission's 4-3 rejection of a domestic partner registry that was pushed by Mark Shape back in January.
Equality Florida reached out to Al Higginbotham — one of the "no" votes — but it doesn't look like he's willing to reverse his decision. The Eastern Hillsborough board member said he's working on a packet of information about protections that already exist in current Florida law for unmarried couples.
"My quest over the last several weeks has not been directed at changing existing laws and precedent," he said in a statement released last week.
This article appears in Mar 14-20, 2013.
