PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island — An opponent of same-sex marriage, Governor Don Carcieri has vetoed a bill giving domestic partners the right to claim the bodies of — and make funeral arrangements for — their loved ones, reports the Nashua Telegraph.
The socially conservative Republican said the proposed protection represents a “disturbing trend” of the incremental erosion of heterosexual marriage. Rhode Island does not recognize same-sex marriage.
“If the General Assembly believes it would like to address the issue of domestic partnership, it should place the issue on the ballot and let the people of the State of Rhode Island decide,” Carcieri said in a letter to lawmakers.
Sen. Rhoda Perry and Rep. David Segal, the bill sponsors, said they would seek to override the veto. They proposed the legislation after one of their constituents was unable to retrieve the body of his late partner from the state medical examiner for weeks because they weren’t married or next-of-kin.
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Democrats hold a veto-proof majority in the Legislature and frequently override Carcieri’s objections.
Full story at the Nashua Telegraph.
