TALLAHASSEE — A bipartisan effort to enact domestic partnership protections in Florida stalled in committee on February 19, when the state Senate Committee on Children, Families, and Elder Affairs postponed a reading of the Families First bill, which was introduced by committee chair Sen. Eleanor Sobel (D-Hollywood). The legislation would allow gay couples and unmarried Floridians access to key legal protections for their families.

“In the past year, Florida has seen a wave of support for domestic partner registries—affecting both gay and straight couples—through the passage of legislation in numerous municipalities,” said Nadine Smith, Executive Director of Equality Florida. “It is vital that there is a cohesive, statewide policy in place, eliminating obstacles and hardships that no one would want inflicted upon their own family.”

The hearing was scheduled six years to the day that a South Florida woman, Janice Langbehn, experienced the loss of her life partner of 18 years, Lisa Pond, who died at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Langbehn was denied visitation access to Pond, with whom she had four children.

The case drew national attention and prompted President Obama to issue an Executive Memo requiring hospitals that receive Medicaid funding to treat domestic partners as family.