Gay Couple Win Golfing Battle

SAN FRANCISCO -- The California Supreme Court ruled on Monday that California businesses must grant registered domestic partners the same benefits they give married heterosexuals.

The decision came after Birgit Koebke and Kendall French, who have been in a relationship since 1993, sued the Bernardo Heights Country Club for denying them the same privileges the club offers to married heterosexual couples.

Koebke is a member of the club and asked the club's directors for permission to designate French her "significant other" so they could golf together, a privilege already offered to married couples. The club declined.

When Koebke presented the club with a certificate of domestic partnership in 1998, her request was again denied by the club.

According to court documents the club feared it would "open the floodgates" by being branded "gay friendly."

Club lawyers countered in court that the organization's stance was intended to discourage freeloading, keep tee times open for regular members, and foster a "family-friendly atmosphere."

The suit contended the rule was loosely applied, allowing for a boyfriend of one member and grandchildren of another to behave as members.

"Promoting a family environment is not furthered by excluding families formed through domestic partnerships," Justice Kathryn Werdegar wrote, noting that such inequity actually contradicted that goal.

"What the court is saying is that businesses in California cannot deny registered domestic partners the benefits they provide to spouses," said Jon Davidson, legal director of the gay rights group Lambda Legal and the lawyer for Koebke and French.

Koebke hailed the decision as "a great victory for California families."