GULFPORT, Fla. (AP) — The city of Gulfport’s domestic partnership registry has gone into effect and three couples have signed up so far.

The ordinance began Monday.

It was approved unanimously by city officials in May, and it made Gulfport the first Pinellas County jurisdiction to create a domestic partner registry for unmarried couples. St. Petersburg and Clearwater have since established similar ordinances.

The Tampa Bay Times (http://bit.ly/LwjqGG) reports that the ordinance includes rights that will allow partners to visit each other in health care facilities, make medical decisions for a partner who is incapacitated, make funeral arrangements for a partner who dies and be notified as a family member in an emergency.

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