Ohio marriage certificate

Voters in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, became the first in the nation to show support for same-sex couples at the ballot box when 55% of them approved a domestic-partnership registry November 4. While city councils and state legislatures have created such registries elsewhere, none has ever come from a ballot initiative.

The registry, which will allow unmarried couples to obtain a certificate from the city and could help them gain recognition of their relationship, provides no legal rights. But it marks an important milestone in the gay rights movement, activists said.

"It demonstrates, when we have face-to-face conversations with Americans, they will vote for basic fairness for gay people," said Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.