Cambridge Becomes Second U.S. City Legalize Polyamorous Domestic Partnerships

On March 8th, 2021, the Cambridge City Council passed a historic domestic partnership ordinance aimed at recognizing and protecting polyamorous and other multi-partner families and relationships. The ordinance was developed with detailed input from the newly formed Polyamory Legal Advocacy Coalition (PLAC), and is the first of what advocates hope will be a wave of legal recognition for polyamorous families and relationships in 2021.

Non-nuclear and multi-partner families are on the rise, and the law is finally catching up. An estimated 11% of people in the United States have engaged in a polyamorous relationship at some point during their life, but due to severe stigma and fear of discrimination, they often do not share their relationship status with family, friends, or co-workers. In July 2020, Somerville, MA became the first city to allow domestic partnerships of three or more partners. Since then, other progressive American cities, including Cambridge, have seen community-driven demand for similar ordinances. To support this momentum, the Chosen Family Law Center and Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic teamed up with other mental health professionals and lawyers to create PLAC. PLAC, whose mission is supported by the American Psychological Association’s Division 44 Committee on Consensual Non-Monogamy, hopes that the new ordinance, which makes Cambridge only the second city in the nation to recognize multi-partner domestic partnerships, will inspire other municipalities to pass similar ordinances. PLAC has drafted sample legislation to assist cities in establishing their own multi-partner domestic partnership ordinances, as well as non-discrimination ordinances to protect polyamorous families and individuals.