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Archive Version of
Partners Task Force for Gay and Lesbian Couples Online from 1995-2022 Demian and Steve Bryant originally founded Partners as a monthly newsletter in 1986. By late 1990 it was reformatted into a bi-monthly magazine. Print publication was halted by 1995 when Demian published Partners as a Web site, which greatly expanded readership. In 1988, the Partners National Survey of Lesbian & Gay Couples report was published; the first major U.S. survey on same-sex couples in a decade. In 1996, Demian produced The Right to Marry, a video documentary based on the dire need for equality that was made clear by the data from the survey mentioned above. The video featured interviews with Rev. Mel White, Evan Wolfson, Phyllis Burke, Richard Mohr, Kevin Cathcart, Faygele benMiriam, Benjamin Cable-McCarthy, Susan Reardon, Frances Fuchs, Tina Podlodowski, and Chelle Mileur. Demian has been the sole operator during the last two decades of Partners. Demian stopped work on Partners Task Force in order to realize his other time-consuming projects, which include publishing the book “Operating Manual for Same-Sex Couples: Navigating the rules, rites & rights” - which is now available on Amazon. The book is based on the Partners Survey mentioned above, his interviews of scores of couples, and 36 years of writing hundreds of articles about same-sex couples. It’s also been informed by his personal experience in a 20-year, same-sex relationship. Demian’s other project is to publish his “Photo Stories by Demian” books based on his more than six decades as a photographer and writer. |
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Wisconsin offers the some of the spousal rights to same-sex couples that are offered to legally married opposite-sex couples. This status became law on June 29, 2009. It took effect on August 3, 2009.
Domestic partnerships provide couples about 43 rights and responsibilities, compared to more than the 200 that are granted to married couples. Domestic partnership is not “substantially similar” to, nor a substitute for, legal marriage.
On June 29th, 2009, Wisconsin Governor Doyle signed domestic partnerships into law. It is the first state in the Midwest to legislatively enact protections for same-sex couples. It was made possible by action from thousands of grassroots statewide advocates, joining Fair Wisconsin in lobbying their legislators, telling their story, and never giving up on the quest for fairness.
The anti-gay Wisconsin Family Action filed a lawsuit against the state, in 2009, arguing that the domestic partnership law is a violation of the 2006 anti-gay constitutional amendment which bars marriage equality and recognition of any legal status that is “substantially similar” to marriage. After the State Attorney General announced that his office would not defend the state against the claim, Governor Doyle appointed special counsel to represent the state. The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected the case.
On August 18, 2010, the Wisconsin Family Action and the Alliance Defense Fund filed a new challenge to the domestic partnership registry.
From August 1-December 31, 2009, 1,329 domestic partnerships were filed. 929 were for female partners, and 400 were filed by male partners.
As of October 10, 2010, there have been nearly 15,000 Domestic Partnership registrations were filed.
Domestic partnership registrations are handled as “vital records.” This means that, while the documents are not open to anyone who might want to see them, certain people, including some family members and governmental officials, will have access to those records.
Domestic partnerships can be dissolved through a legal termination process at the county clerk’s office, beginning with the filing of a notice of termination of domestic partnership and paying a fee. The terminating partner has the responsibility to inform the other partner of the termination.
Request for a Copy of a Declaration of Domestic Partnership Wisconsin Declaration of Domestic Partnership Application Full summary of the domestic partnership protections: Legislative Fiscal Bureau paper Request for a Copy of a Termination of Domestic Partnership Certificate
Fair Wisconsin Inc. For a vast survey, please see our:
Legal Marriage Report: Global Status of Legal Marriage Return to: Domestic Partnership Benefits
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