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Rhode Island lawmakers override veto to allow burial rights for domestic partners

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] Rhode Island lawmakers on Tuesday voted to allow domestic partners, including those in same-sex relationships, to claim the body of their partner and to make funeral arrangements, overriding a veto by Governor Don Carcieri. The legislation passed by a vote of 67-3 in the House and 31-3 in the Senate, receiving support from both Democrats and Republicans. Neither domestic partnerships or civil unions are recognized in Rhode Island, and the bill will require that a same-sex partner produce documentation establishing the nature of the relationship, such as proof of a joint bank account, mortgage, or car registration, and that the relationship had lasted for a year or longer. The legislation will also apply to unmarried heterosexual couples. Carcieri, a Republican, had argued that the "bill represents a disturbing trend over the past few years of the incremental erosion of the principles surrounding traditional marriage." The veto of the burial rights bill comes amid a larger battle in Rhode Island over same-sex marriage, which, according to a Brown University poll, has the approval of 60 percent of registered voters in the state. Rhode Island and Maine remain the only two states in New England that do not recognize same-sex marriage after legislation to legalize same-sex marriage was vetoed by voters in Maine in November. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, and New Hampshire, and is set to become legal in Washington DC, pending Congressional inaction.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).