Nevada governor Jim
Gibbons has pledged to veto a bill passed by the legislature on
Tuesday that would give same-sex domestic partners many of the
same rights as married heterosexual couples.
Gibbons, a Republican,
has up to five days to veto the bill. Both houses of the
legislature are expected to override the veto.
A spokesperson for
Gibbons told the
Reno Gazette-Journal
that the governor will oppose the bill on the grounds that it
involves government in residents' personal lives, and because
existing laws already provide adequate domestic contract
options.
Nevada voters twice
approved a constitutional amendment to define marriage as a
union between a man and a woman, in 2000 and 2002. The
domestic-partnership legislation specifies that the contracts
are not marriages.
The new legislation
would give domestic partners, including same-sex couples, the
same rights as married couples in estate planning, medical
decisions, community property, and child care if they enter
into a civil contract and obtain a state registration.
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