Gibbons vetoes domestic partners bill
CARSON CITY — As he promised, Gov. Jim Gibbons today vetoed the bill to allow same- and opposite-sex couples to become legal domestic partners with almost all the rights and privileges of married couples.
| READ VETOED BILLS: | ||
 Veto AB 199 |
Veto AB 473 |
Veto SB 283 |
In his veto message, Gibbons said he rejected Senate Bill 283 because it is contrary to the wishes of Nevada voters who in 2002 approved the Protection of Marriage constitutional amendment. That amendment stipulates a marriage may be between only a man and a woman.
Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, the bill’s sponsor, now will try to muster enough votes in the Legislature to override the veto. The bill passed the Senate 12-9 and the Assembly 26-14, two votes short of the two-thirds needed to override a veto.
Under the bill, a couple would pay a fee to the secretary of state to secure a domestic partnership contract entitling them to make will, inheritance, health care, funeral and other decisions now made by spouses in marriages. But the bill specifies that a domestic partnership is not a marriage as defined by the Protection of Marriage amendment passed by more than two-thirds of voters in 2002.
Five states now allow same-sex marriages, while nine states and numerous municipalities permit domestic partnerships or civil unions.
To drum up more support for the bill, Parks added amendments that specify neither private companies nor the state or local governments have to offer health care benefits for the domestic partners of their employees. They can do so voluntarily.
In addition, another amendment states a ceremony is not required to solemnize a domestic partnership. Couples, however, can voluntarily decide to have such ceremonies.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.
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