They can't be married, but gay couples in Salt Lake City may soon be able to have their partnerships officially recognized by the municipal government.

Mayor Rocky Anderson, a longtime proponent of gay rights and advocate for gay marriage, wants to create Utah's first domestic-partner registry, which would allow gay couples to come to City Hall and sign up with the city. This would give their partnership legal recognition, if not the full benefits of marriage.

Anderson isn't saying much about his specific plans, noting the registry is in the planning stages. He did say the registry may give couples some legal rights they might otherwise not have in Utah or afford them rights if they moved to states with more liberal laws on gay partnership.

"It might give some extra legal protection if a couple were to move away to a place that did recognize their relationship or it might give some extra legal protection in terms of hospital visits," Anderson said.

In a letter to City Councilwoman Jill Remington Love last week, Anderson said he plans to present an ordinance to the council creating the registry, although he didn't give a specific time frame.

"I will also likely seek council passage of an ordinance providing for a partnership registry," the letter said.

The document also discussed Anderson's desire to extend city employee health benefits to domestic partners.

Across the United States, various states and cities have created domestic partnership registries. While such registries at the state level offer gay couples some significant financial and civic benefits, registries at the city level are more ceremonial.

A recent American Civil Liberties Union report on domestic partner registries notes that state governments have the authority to offer many of the rights gay couples covet, such as medical decisionmaking and parental rights, while cities don't have the authority.

Given that power balance, such registries at the city level generally don't carry much authority. With that said, the report noted that even a city-level registry can be better than nothing.

"The official status that goes with registration can be significant," the report stated. "If the registration system has people swear that they are in an intimate, committed relationship, it would be good evidence against a later claim that two people were just roommates or friends. This might have social and possible legal consequences."

Also, the registries can provide a useful tool for private companies that want to offer health benefits to gay partners. The companies can use the registry to determine if two people are actually in a domestic partnership or not.