With the enactment of AB 26, authored by Assemblywoman Carole Migden and signed into law by Governor Gray Davis, California becomes only the second state in the union to legally recognize same sex relationships. Beginning in the year 2000, lesbian, gay and senior citizen couples will be able to register with the State of California as domestic partners. Registering as a domestic partner is simple.
Domestic partnerships affirm the validity, dignity, and legitimacy of families.
Legal recognition of these relationships provides security and stability to domestic partners and their children. Moreover, registration enables a domestic partner to extend specific benefits such as hospital visitation and health coverage to the other partner and his or her children. According to the new law, domestic partners must share a common residence and agree to be jointly responsible for each other's basic living expenses during the existence of the domestic partnership. The exact requirements of a domestic partnership are codified in Section 297 of the California Family Code and are summarized here. Domestic partners must be adults, unmarried, and unrelated by blood.