FORT MYERS — The county encompassing Cape Coral and Punta Gorda may soon have its own domestic partnership registry.

The Lee County Attorney’s Office is in the process of finalizing a proposed ordinance on the registry, said county spokeswoman Betsy Clayton. The ordinance could go to commissioners in late April or early May.

“It’s called equality,” said Arlene Goldberg, a Fort Myers activist in the gay community. “It’s a legal no-brainer for LGBT couples and straight couples who live in Lee County.”

When domestic couples, straight or gay, register they are afforded legal protections that provide more say into their partner’s lives. The rights range from hospital visitation and decisions about health care to funeral and burial arrangements. Crisis decisions, guardianship rights, participation in educational decisions and correctional visitation rights are among the relationship privileges domestic partners across America have been fighting for.

Cape Coral has had a registry since November. Punta Gorda started its registry in April. The cost to register in Cape Coral is $50; in Punta Gorda it’s $30. Couples receive a certificate and two wallet-sized proof of partnership cards.

Forty-nine couples have registered in Cape Coral, according to the city’s clerk office. Twenty-two couples are same sex and the rest are straight. In Punta Gorda, 35 couples have registered, the city clerk’s office said. About one third were same-sex couples.

Domestic partners must meet requirements to qualify. They can’t be married. The relationship must be personal and emotional, and they must share a mutual residence, according to registry guidelines supplied by Equality Florida, the state’s largest LGBT rights organization.

“The domestic partner registries are so important to both straight and LGBT couples,” Goldberg said. “When there is love between domestic partners in Florida the registries are critical to allowing these couples make important decisions that affect each other’s lives.”

Ryan O’Halloran, a Fort Myers family attorney, said frequent legal issues between domestic partners are custody disputes.

“When a couple is not married there are more legal hurdles when children are part of the relationship.” he said. “Often fathers may have little or no rights to custody.”

He also said the ordinances vary from community to community.

“A couple that is part of a Domestic Registry in Cape Coral may not receive the same legal protections if the couple moves to another city or county in Florida,” he said. “It depends on local laws or ordinances whether a domestic partnership is recognized or not.”

Equality Florida supports introducing a bill in the Florida Legislature that would establish a domestic partnership registry statewide.

Lee County Commissioner Larry Kiker, who was chair in 2014 when Cape Coral created its registry, said he hasn’t heard anything lately about his board taking up the issue.

He did not realize a domestic partnership registry was still necessary because of a judge’s ruling that same-sex marriage was legal in Florida.

“I thought it was a moot subject after the last finding the judge had,” he said.

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