That's the title of a Chicago tribune article. I will have a little to say about this if you care to follow me below the fold.
As an expatriot Rhode Islander, I think this story is worth bringing to peoples attention upon for a number of reasons.
Firstly, Carcieri is a Republican Governor, and while I disagree with him on so many issues, in this instance he reminds me of why there are New England Republican Officials representing predominantly Democratic electorates. Simply stated, it is the occasional apparent willingness to listen to reason.
Now the cynical side of me thinks he's trying to staunch years of virulent opposition to equal rights and civil unions for same sex couples. Recent efforts towards those ends have come to a head with a Carcieri veto of a funeral planning rights bill.
Local mariiage equality activists are not impressed by the notion of "domestic partnerships" as it seems to be something less than the cynosure of their efforts.
Personally as a pragmatic incrementalist, I think it can be a step forward towards true equality. I would like to think that it is not a dead end solution that puts civil unions out of the public mind. As a state, Rhode Island has one of the highest percentages of people supporting equal rights for same sex couples and homosexuals. It is also one of the most Democratic [Party] oriented. It is only a matter of time before we have a Democratic Governor again.
In the end, perhaps, this is all about Carcieri "fearing the reaper" of his political life. He has done such a piss poor job, he must feel desperate to find something to be re-elected upon...
...I've changed my mind, Carcieri doesn't seem all that enlightened, I'm guessing mostly scared :-/