Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman announced the proposal on Friday along with city councilmen Andrew Ginther and Zach Klein.

Their plan would allow unmarried couples regardless of sexual orientation to voluntarily register their relationship with the city clerk's office for a fee. The couples would not have to be residents of Columbus.

The registry gives people in domestic partnerships a way of officially declaring their relationships as proof for health insurance and other benefits typically reserved for married couples.

Columbus offers domestic partner benefits to its city employees.

The councilmen supporting the registry hope to pass an ordinance creating it before the council's August recess.