Washington state yesterday put into effect new legislation that legally recognizes same-sex domestic partnerships. Registering as domestic partners does not yield as many rights as traditionally married couples enjoy, nor even as many as the civil unions that are now legal in several states. However, domestic partnership does yield some important rights for same-sex couples, including hospital visitation, the ability to authorize autopsies and organ donations, and the ability to inherit in the absence of a will.

Hundreds of couples made their way to the Secretary of State’s office in Olympia, WA yesterday to register.

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