West Hollywood Approves Registry for Relationships of Three or More Partners, Effective December 2
The City Council of West Hollywood, in Los Angeles County, California, voted unanimously on November 2 to approve Ordinance No. 26-13, creating a municipal registry for relationships involving three or more partners. Groups of three or more adults in a multi-partner domestic relationship may file a declaration with the City Clerk and have their relationship officially recorded. The ordinance, introduced by Mayor John Heilman and approved 5-0, is scheduled to take effect on December 2.
Under the ordinance, each participant must be at least 18, legally competent to enter a contract, in a consensual relationship, sharing the common necessities of life and responsible for one another's welfare, and not related by blood closer than California law would bar for marriage. No one may be registered in two multi-partner relationships at the same time. Applicants do not have to live in West Hollywood; they may file in person with identification or by mail with notarised signatures, and the registration fee will be set by a later council resolution.
Registered partners gain visitation rights at healthcare facilities and jails within the city, certain tenant protections under the city's rent-control rules, and a presumption of coverage under the city's antidiscrimination ordinance. The ordinance states explicitly that registration does not create a marriage or a registered domestic partnership under California law and confers no inheritance, tax or immigration rights: Section 299.6 of the California Family Code lets cities grant extra rights only within their own jurisdiction. In March, West Hollywood had adopted Ordinance 26-06, making 'family or relationship structure' a protected class. The Los Angeles Times first reported the new registry on November 3.
Source: City of West Hollywood
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：西好莱坞市政厅（本图已预裁为 16:9）。公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: West Hollywood City Hall (pre-cropped to 16:9). Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
