Cincinnati has now joined Columbus and other Ohio cities in creating a domestic partner registry. The queen city's first couple signed up on Thursday. Tana Weingartner of member station WVXU in Cincinnati reports.
Standing next to his fiance Ethan Fletcher on the steps of Cincinnati City Hall, Andrew Hickam was all smiles as the couple handed over their paperwork to a notary public.
Were excited that this is actually going to be the first legal document affirming our commitment to each other in a domestic partnership, says Hickam. This is a great step towards the wonderful fight that weve all been fighting to eventually get
the right to marry here in Ohio.
Hickam and Fletcher are also one of six couples suing Ohio in federal court for the right to marry. John Boggess with Equality Ohio says Cincinnati is now the tenth city in the state to create a domestic partner registry.
Its all over the map, he says. Its places like Athens and Yellow Springs, Toledo, Dayton, and now the third C in addition to Columbus and Cleveland.
The aim of the registry is to provide legal documentation un-married couples in committed relationships can use to prove their status to employers or health care agencies.