When four couples trekked to City Hall on Wednesday to obtain domestic partnership

certificates, advocates lauded it as a historic day in Buffalo.

A new law took effect that creates a domestic partnership registry, and a lesbian couple

had the distinction of obtaining the city's first certificate.

Document: Sworn statement to apply for domestic partnership

Related: Lawmakers OK benefits for same-sex domestic partners

Kitty Lambert and Cheryle Rudd were waiting outside the city clerk's office when it opened

to fill out the Sworn Statement of Domestic Partnership.

Advocates say the certificates will make it easier for people to prove their unions to

employers and other entities for the purposes of obtaining benefits.

Lambert, who is president of Outspoken for Equality, a gay rights group, said the certificate

that she and her partner obtained is more symbolic than anything.

"It's a piece of paper that says we're dedicated to each other, we're in the same

household, we're financially linked to each other in some way, and that we're going to be

together for the rest of our lives," said Lambert, who has been with Rudd for more than a

decade.

The city charges $40 for the certificate. If individuals want to nullify their partnership,

they must submit additional documentation and pay another $40 fee.

The certificates are issued to same-sex couples or opposite-sex couples, as long as they

provide identification and some proof that they cohabit such as a landlord statement or bank

statement.

Even though advocates view the new registry as a step forward, Lambert and Bruce Kogan of

Stonewall Democrats of Western New York were passing out crumbs from a crumb cake to visitors

in City Hall. Lambert said the registry amounts to "crumbs" compared with the larger mission

of legalizing gay marriage in New York.

"We want marriage," she said. "We want the whole wedding cake. We want the whole

experience. We want all the protections. This is a small little piece."

Lambert predicted the state will eventually legalize gay marriage. "It will happen. It's

just a matter of time," she said.

Buffalo's domestic partnership registry law took effect one day after the Common Council

overwhelmingly approved a law that would extend city employee benefits to same-sex couples.

Mayor Byron W. Brown has yet to say whether he will sign the bill, but Tuesday's 8-1 Council

vote would seem to make the measure veto-proof. Brown told The Buffalo News he is still

reviewing the legislation.

Lambert said the law is "way past due," but she said she is disappointed that the

compromise bill excludes opposite-sex couples. She said many such couples don't marry for

religious and financial reasons.

She and other advocates have dismissed arguments that a broader law could cause the city's

health insurance tab to skyrocket. They said other municipalities have not seen significant

cost increases. They also noted that labor contracts already make about half the city's work

force eligible for same-sex domestic partner benefits and that only two employees have signed

up for such benefits.

Listen to Lambert discuss the new developments: