2010 Legislative Program

Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 22, 2010

CONTACT: Vaishalee Raja, Communications Director
PHONE: 916-284-9187 EMAIL: vaishalee@eqca.org

Equality California Sponsors Bill Eliminating Barriers to Dissolve Marriages, Domestic Partnerships for Same-Sex Couples

Sacramento—Equality California is sponsoring a new bill introduced last Friday by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) that would create a consolidated form and procedure to dissolve both a civil marriage and domestic partnership.

AB 2700 would amend the state’s family code, allowing for couples who first registered as domestic partners and who legally married thereafter, to dissolve both contracts through a single, uniform procedure. The current system forces couples to go through a separate process for each.

“Currently, couples must navigate a confusing system that is especially daunting for those who lack legal representation,” said Geoff Kors, Equality California executive director. “Since the State of California treats the relationships of same-sex couples differently, we need this legislation to prevent couples from having to jump through bureaucratic hoops until we restore a system of fairness and equality.”

The Conference of California Bar Associations is also sponsoring the bill.

“AB 2700 brings us a step closer towards marriage equality by recognizing that ALL marriages are treated alike, even when it comes to dissolving marriages,” Assemblymember Ma said.”

Source: www.eqca.org

View the CCBA Resolution here: CCBA Resolution 05-08-2009