UPDATED
Rhode Island lawmakers handily overrode Governor Donald Carcieri's heartless veto of legislation granting funeral decision-making rights to domestic partners.
UPDATE: The bigot governor made a last minute plea to lawmakers, along with NOM, to respect his bigotry. They refused.
Said Carcieri at the time of his veto: "This bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of
the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional
marriage, which is not the preferred way to approach this issue. If the
General Assembly believes it would like to address the issue
of domestic partnerships, it should place the issue on the ballot and
let the people of the state of Rhode Island decide.''
The Providence Journal reports: "The House vote was 67 to 3 and the Senate vote was 29 to 3. The only one of dueling defense-of-marriage, same-sex marriage and
gay-rights bills introduced in Rhode Island last year that cleared the
General Assembly, the legislation was an outgrowth of the personal tale
that Mark S. Goldberg told lawmakers about his months-long battle last
fall to persuade state authorities to release to him for cremation the
body of his partner of 17 years, Ron Hanby."
Previously…
Rhode Island Governor Won't Even Give Rights to Dead Gays [tr]