Rhode Island Governor Expresses Openness to 'Everything But Marriage' Domestic Partner Law After Meeting with Gay Groups

Given the fact that Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri is solidly in with NOM and giving speeches about "traditional  marriage" to the Massachusetts Family Institute, this thaw is encouraging.

As I posted earlier this week, Carcieri vetoed a bill that would have allowed gays and lesbians to make funeral arrangements for their domestic partners, saying, "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.''

Yesterday, gay groups met with Carcieri, and emerged from the meeting saying he better understood the difficulties gays face when it comes to rights:

"'Maybe [an 'everything but marriage' domestic partner law is]  something we should consider,' said Carcieri, after meeting privately Thursday for more than an hour in his office with a half-dozen members of Queer Action of Rhode Island, a group that in the immediate aftermath of his veto had labeled him 'a bigot.' Among those attending was Mark Goldberg, the Providence East Sider whose five-week battle to claim the body of his partner of 17 years from the state morgue, had sparked the vetoed legislation. Citing as a possible model the 'everything but marriage' referendum that won approval in the state of Washington earlier this month, Carcieri said: 'I don’t know enough, yet. All I am saying is I understand the circumstances. I understand the difficulties' that can arise for same-sex couples and others — such as widows living with widowers, and widows with other widows — outside the legal framework of a traditional marriage. 'Let’s see if we can find a way to solve that without discreet [pieces] of legislation every time something comes up. I just don’t think that is the right way to deal with it,' he said."

RI Governor's Gay Rights Veto Called 'Heartless' by Attorney General

Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch has criticized Governor Donald Carcieri's veto of a bill that would have given gays and lesbians the right to make funeral arrangements for their deceased domestic partners.

Said Carcieri: "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.''

Respoonded Lynch, who is running for governor in 2010: "“I can only describe the Governor's veto as cruel and heartless.By vetoing this bill, he has demonstrated that he believes gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders are second-class citizens. If this bill comes before me as Governor, I will sign it immediately. It takes more than just talk to demonstrate a commitment to equality for all. It takes action. I have a record of proactively fighting for equality for gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders and I pledge to continue this fight as Governor.”

Watch ABC6's report, AFTER THE JUMP...

Rhode Island Governor Won't Even Give Rights to Dead Gays

If you're gay and you die in Rhode Island your domestic partner won't be able to make funeral arrangements for you because Governor Donald Carcieri just vetoed a bill providing for that.

Why?

According to Carcieri, "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.''

Carcieri, who is also a strong supporter of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), recently told the crowd of more than 300 at a fundraiser for the anti-gay group Massachusetts Family Institute that marriage is "not a civil right". Said the governor: "It is a not civil right. I get aggravated when it is portrayed that way. Marriage is a license by the state. It is about a state’s responsibility, which is the reason why states don’t allow a lot of types of marriages."

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Rhode Island domestic partners bill awaits anti-gay governor Carcieri's signature: "An opponent of gay marriage, Carcieri has not yet stated whether, he will sign, veto or allow to become law without his signature a bill to provide domestic partners with the right to make funeral arrangements for their partners."

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Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell says she's not running for reelection: "Rell choked up while listing her favorite memories while in office, including meeting those affected by the passage of public health insurance for the poor, updates to mass transit, and improvements to the state's education system. She cited a gay couple who hugged her at Stafford Motor Speedway after she signed the nation's first voluntarily passed civil union bill."

Westboro Baptist Church protests outside of Sasha and Malia Obama's school in D.C..

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New York Army specialist in Baghdad being discharged under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell': "Nathanael Bodon of Marlboro is a specialist in the Army Reserve stationed in Baghdad, Iraq. He has been in the reserves for about a year-and-a-half and in Iraq for some four months. The Army found out about Bodon when a fellow soldier found his blog with a picture of him kissing a former boyfriend and tipped off the Army brass."

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N.Y. Posts' Andrea Peyser defends cabbie who kicked out gays for hugging: " Mohamed faces the indignity of having his cab license yanked by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. He's already lost his job. But Medhat Mohamed is no bigot, and he's not a disgrace. He's also not a prude, a gay basher, a homophobe or the more colorful invective that's been lobbed in his direction by a chorus of yuppies with a large bone to pick."

Rhode Islanders Rally for Marriage Equality, Denounce Governor

Nearly 200 supporters of same-sex marriage rallied on the steps of the Rhode Island state house in Providence on Saturday, angry that Rhode Island is an actual 'island' in a sea of New England states that have marriage equality or civil union laws on the books.

The Brown Daily Herald reports: "Among the speakers at the rally was State Sen. Rhoda Perry P’91, D-Dist. 3, who said that because 'all five other sister New England states have mandated that rights and privileges associated with civil marriage extend to all of their citizens,' Rhode Island too must 'move on, and ensure that the legal rights to marriage uniformly extend to all its citizens.' Perry, whose district includes College Hill, has repeatedly introduced legislation in the General Assembly to legalize same-sex marriage...Several speakers in the rally denounced Gov. Donald Carcieri ’65, who said at a Thursday fund-raiser for the Massachusetts Family Institute that 'gay marriage is not a civil right' and that he gets 'aggravated' when people call it that. On its Web site, the MFI calls homosexuality 'destructive to family, individuals and society' and supports 'the healing of those plagued by a same-sex attraction.'"

Watch a news report on the rally from WPRI, AFTER THE JUMP...

RI Governor Carcieri Delivers 'Traditional Marriage' Speech at Anti-Gay Massachusetts Group's Fundraiser

Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri crossed state lines last night to deliver a speech about "traditional marriage" to the Massachusetts Family Institute. In September, gay groups had asked Carcieri to cancel the appearance. Here's what the MFI says about gays on its website:

"MFI does not consider homosexual behavior to be merely an alternate lifestyle or sexual 'preference'; it is an unhealthy practice and destructive to individuals, families and society. Our compassion for those plagued by same-sex attraction compels us to support the healing of those who wish to change their behavior. MFI strongly opposes any efforts by political activists to normalize homosexual behavior and all attempts to equate homosexuality with benign characteristics such as skin color, or the 'gay rights' movement with the civil rights movement."

The MFI did everything they could to enact a ban on same-sex marriage in Massachusetts in 2007, and failed.

Carcieri, who is also a strong supporter of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), told the crowd of more than 300 that marriage is "not a civil right". Said the governor: "It is a not civil right. I get aggravated when it is portrayed that way. Marriage is a license by the state. It is about a state’s responsibility, which is the reason why states don’t allow a lot of types of marriages."

The Providence Journal reports: "The protesters outside were from a variety of Rhode Island gay-rights advocacy groups including Queer Action Rhode Island, which in August called on the governor to cancel his appearance. They said his decision to speak before the Massachusetts Family Institute, which had been confirmed more than a month ago, sends a 'bad message' to Rhode Islanders as the state weighs the issue of same-sex marriage...Said Susan Heroux, a member of Queer Action RI, 'They go way beyond opposition to gay marriage. In their far-out views, they think [homosexuality] is a disease that we can be cured of. … It feels like they’re trying to eradicate us.'"

Carcieri has agreed to meet with gay groups face-to-face in early November to discuss his position on a variety of isues.

Watch an ABC6 report on Carcieri's speech to the MFI, AFTER THE JUMP...