(Photo by Andrew Wiseman; courtesy Wikimedia Commons)

The D.C. City Council voted unanimously on Dec. 1 to give final approval the Domestic Partnership Termination Recognition Amendment Act of 2015.

The legislation calls for amending the city’s existing domestic partnership law to allow couples that had domestic partnerships legally registered in another jurisdiction to terminate those partnerships by judicial decree in the District.

Supporters say the bill will correct an unintended legal interpretation of the existing law that prevents couples who moved to D.C. from another jurisdiction from terminating their partnerships unless they reestablish residency in the state in which the partnership was originally registered.

LGBT activists have said D.C.’s domestic partnership law, which recognizes same-sex and opposite-sex partnerships, has been used less frequently by same-sex couples in recent years since same-sex marriage became legal in D.C. in 2010.