TOLEDO—In an effort to persuade Toledo City Council members not to pass legislation establishing a domestic partnership registry, Bishop Leonard P. Blair made his case public through television and radio interviews and a letter read at Toledo parish Masses in November.

The measure was introduced by Toledo Councilman Joe McNamara at the city council meeting Nov. 6 and passed by a 10-2 vote at the group’s following meeting Nov. 13. Toledo Mayor Carleton Finkbeiner signed the ordinance Nov. 21.

The new law creates a public registry in Toledo for both heterosexual and homosexual couples who are not married. To declare themselves in a domestic partnership both people must share a common residence, affirm they have an intimate relationship and share responsibility for each other’s common welfare, declare they are not married or part of an existing domestic partnership with other people, be at least 18 years old and are not blood relatives.

Bishop Blair spoke out against the passage of the ordinance during a Nov. 18 press conference for local media and through public appearances Nov. 25 on “Conklin and Company,” a Sunday morning talk show hosted by television station WTVG’s news anchor Lee Conklin, and a Nov. 21 interview on YES FM, a Christian radio station with bandwidth in Toledo, Wauseon, Lima and Fremont.

“It’s an important issue because marriage and family are being seriously undermined in our country today,” says Bishop Blair.

“Laws set the tone for life in a society. Traditionally, the government has tried to favor the marriage bond out of recognition that marriage and the family are the foundation of a healthy society,” he continues. “When we confer recognition on cohabitation instead of marriage, we weaken something that is extremely important for our individual and social well-being.”

The bishop believes that when laws such as these are passed, young people will have a further reason to question the need to be married.

“People think if something is legal, it must be moral,” Bishop Blair says, using the example of legalized abortion. “That’s all the more reason not to give legal recognition to behaviors that are contrary to the God-given institution of marriage and family.”

The bishop also points to a growing body of evidence from the social sciences showing that cohabitation puts children at risk of abuse and other problems. He questions why a government entity would recognize, and thereby promote, something that’s clearly not healthy for individuals and society as a whole.

“Marriage is the basis of the family and the protective haven for children, who are the real key to future economic and social well-being for our community,” he says.

Some proponents of the measure have criticized the bishop, saying the church’s stance is exclusionary to people with alternate lifestyles.

“It is one thing to respect each person and recognize his or her legitimate rights” the bishop responds. “It’s another thing to grant the privileges of marriage to people who are not married. Nobody has a right to this simply because they claim it for themselves or because they say they want to redefine marriage.”

The bishop urges the people of the diocese to be aware of these attempts to undermine marriage, and encourages them to oppose these kinds of measures in their communities.