Ethics

Nevada Overrides Veto of Domestic Partnership Bill

By Ed Brayton

The Nevada legislature has overridden a veto by Gov. Jim Gibbons to pass a law allowing domestic partnerships for gays and lesbians:

Only a handful of spectators watched Sunday night as the Assembly voted 28-14 to override Gov. Jim Gibbons' veto of a bill that establishes a domestic partnership law in Nevada.

That vote, with the state Senate's 14-7 rejection of the veto Saturday, makes Senate Bill 283 a law that takes effect on Oct. 1.

Under the new law, same-sex and opposite-sex couples can go to the secretary of state's office, sign a registry, pay a fee and secure a domestic partnership contract that essentially gives them the same legal rights and responsibilities as married couples.

Since it's not exactly the same as gay marriage, the sanctity of all those drunken marriages performed at 3 am in Las Vegas is still preserved.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on June 06, 2009 (boomark / email).