West Hollywood Unanimously Passes Ordinance Granting Protections for Polyamorous Relationships
West Hollywood, California's unanimous 5-0 vote granted hospital and jail visitation rights to people in polyamorous relationships through a city ordinance.
TL;DR
- West Hollywood unanimously passed a city ordinance to provide protections for multipartner domestic relationships.
- The ordinance allows individuals in relationships with three or more people to sign a declaration with the city clerk.
- Qualifying partners will receive certain rights, including hospital and jail visitation.
- The ordinance does not officially recognize polyamorous relationships as marriage or registered domestic partnerships in violation of state or federal law.
- A professor from the University of Virginia expressed concern that the ordinance normalizes households with non-biologically related adults and could lead to polygamy, which he argues fuels gender inequality and harms child well-being.