#Socialites, come get into this: West Hollywood is writing new rules for love, and the city is doing it on purpose.
The City Council passed an ordinance early this week that lets three or more adults in a committed relationship register as a multi-partner domestic relationship, and the vote was unanimous. Nobody on the council said no… which of course doesn’t happen every day at City Hall.
So what do you get when you sign up? Healthcare facilities and city jails must let registered partners visit a patient or inmate, and renters get protection from losing a lease if a partner keeps living in the home. That might sound small, but anybody who has been blocked at a hospital door while a loved one lay inside knows it is not small at all. Now as for the fine print, because we always read it. This is a local ordinance only, so it does not create a marriage or a domestic partnership under California or federal law. Think of it as a seat at the table, but not the whole table…
The new rules take effect on Dec. Now, here the twist. You do not have to live in West Hollywood to sign up. The city also lets people register by mail, as long as the signatures are notarized. That means a family somewhere else could get paperwork to carry to school pickups or the ER.
Councilmember Chelsea Byers, who has pushed this work, called it a “landmark ordinance” that keeps the city on the side of queer families as their needs change. Advocate Christina Fialho, an attorney who first brought the idea to Byers in early 2025, was thinking long term. “This law is just the beginning,” she said.
Not everybody is clapping. Some folks have blasted the ordinance, with one headline quoting them calling it “perverted.” Supporters answer that this is about basic stuff like housing, health care, and being allowed to sit by someone’s bed.
There is also homework left to do. Librarian Megan Katz pointed out that the wording bars couples who have already declared other partnerships, which doesn’t fit how many people practice polyamory. Byers said she will pursue changes so that multiple twosomes can register too.
West Hollywood is not alone, either. Somerville and Cambridge in Massachusetts were first to let multi-partner relationships register, and Portland, Astoria, and Olympia have moved on similar protections this year. A patchwork of local laws is forming, one city at a time.
Socialites, how do you feel about this? Sound off in the comment box below!
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