State Court Rules Backs Benefits for Domestic Partners
By John Spano, Times Staff Writer

A country club that granted married couples benefits it denied to gay couples registered as domestic partners was in violation of California civil rights laws, the California Supreme Court ruled this morning.

The wide-ranging ruling means that any benefits that California businesses provide to married couples must be offered to registered domestic partners.

The court struck down a policy by the Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego against admitting gay couples as members.

The decision, written by Justice Carlos R. Moreno, the court ruled that California's "policy favoring marriage is not served by denying registered domestic partners protection from discrimination under the Unruh Act," the state anti-discrimination law.

The ruling was a victory for Birgit Koebke and Kendall French. The two have been partners since 1993 and registered in California since 2000, according to the opinion.

Moreno wrote that "permitting a business to discriminate against registered domestic partners by denying them benefits or services it extends to spouses violates the comparable public policy favoring domestic partnership."

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