Pacific Views

CA Domestic Partner Rights

The California Supreme Court has given the state's registered domestic partners a big victory:

... In a ruling against the Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego, the court said a business that extends benefits to spouses it "denies to registered domestic partners engages in impermissible marital status discrimination.''

B. Birgit Koebke and Kendall French, a lesbian couple and avid golfers, sued the country club claiming it denied them the same benefits as married couples by requiring Koebke, who is a member, to pay an extra fee for French to play a round of golf. The club allows guests of married members to play for free.

The ruling will have a "far-reaching impact across a wide range of businesses'' in California, including banks, insurers and health clubs, said Jon Davidson, legal director for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, which represented the couple. ..."

Another small step forward for equal rights.