Opponents Fight Calif. Domestic Partners

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A California law that gives gay couples who register as domestic partners nearly the same responsibilities and benefits as married spouses should be overturned because lawmakers undermined the will of voters, lawyers for two groups argued Friday.

The law, which went into effect Jan. 1, grants registered couples virtually every spousal right available under state law except the ability to file joint income taxes. That includes access to divorce courts, automatic parental status and responsibility for each other's debts.

The law represents the nation's most sweeping recognition of domestic partner rights after Vermont's recognition of civil unions for gay couples. New Jersey and Maine also have domestic partner registries.

Opponents of the law told a three-judge appeals court panel the law violates a California ballot initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman. Supporters said the law was unrelated to the ballot measure. Proposition 22 passed five years ago with 61 percent support.

The panel that heard arguments against the law did not seem impressed. The 3rd District Court of Appeal now has ninety days to decide the case. Details here from the AP via My Way News.