HRC Blog

In striking votes of 67 to 3 in the House and 29 to 3 in the Senate, yesterday the Rhode Island legislature overrode Gov. Carcieri's veto of a bill that would allow same-sex partners the authority to make funeral arrangements for their deceased loved ones.  Mark Goldberg had testified to the struggle he faced when the state refused to release to him the body of his late partner of 17 years Ron Hanby.  Yet the Governor said in his veto message, ""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."