LA pushes anti-discrimination law to protect polyamorous partnerships

West Hollywood’s so-called “throuples” are pushing an anti-discrimination law to protect polyamorous partnerships.

WeHo City Council voted unanimously this month to advance a plan allowing multi-partner partnerships to be legally recognized, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The registry is still in development, but officials have already approved a new anti-discrimination ordinance adding “family or relationship structure” as a protected class.

Set to take effect in mid-April, the measure is intended to shield people in polyamorous and other nontraditional households from discrimination in housing, healthcare and education.

West Hollywood Councilmember Chelsea Lee Byers, who introduced the measure, called the protections “long overdue,” saying they come as rising costs and broader pressures affect access to services.

Meanwhile, the council has created a task force to determine how a multi-partner domestic partnership registry would actually function, with recommendations expected within six months.

If approved, the registry would allow more than two adults in a committed relationship to receive recognition similar to traditional domestic partnerships.

Christina Fialho, an attorney and founder of the bisexual media advocacy group Rewrite the BiLine, also spoke to the Times. Fialho introduced the idea of polyamory protections to Byers about a year ago.

“Cities are realizing families come in many forms and that they should protect, not police those relationships,” she said.

Librarian and WeHo resident Megan Katz, 51, said she has two children with her “nesting partner” and another partner with whom she does not live.

While she hasn’t experienced prejudice at work or in her neighborhood, she said she knows others who have, adding she fears her kids could be ostracized or face discrimination because of her arrangement.

“I do have some consternation,” Katz said. “Once you’re out, you can’t put that cat back in the bag. You can’t unring that bell.”

Some Massachusetts municipalities already recognize multi-partner domestic partnerships, and cities like Berkeley and Oakland have taken steps to ban discrimination based on family structure.

The idea isn’t without critics, who have raised concerns about the broader implications of recognizing polyamorous relationships, the outlet noted.

As Berkeley and Oakland prepared to pass their laws, the California Family Council, a conservative religious advocacy group, spoke out against them and described support for polyamorous relationships as “cultural suicide.”

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