Congratulations are in order for Providence Democrat Gordon Fox, who has been overwhelmingly chosen by his fellow Representatives to be the next Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.

Interestingly, Speaker-Elect Fox will break more than one barrier when he takes the lead in the State House:

Besides being the first openly gay lawmaker to preside at the speaker’s rostrum, members of the House minority caucus say that Fox, the child of an Irish-American and a mother of Cape Verdean descent, is the first minority lawmaker to hold what is arguably the state’s most powerful political post.

He will preside over a veto-proof Democratic majority and have wide sway over which bills come to a vote and which bills die.

During a closed-door caucus, Democratic lawmakers also picked Nicholas Mattiello of Cranston as their majority leader and J. Patrick O’Neill of Pawtucket as the party whip.

Congratulations to all the newly-elected leaders in Rhode Island, and we wish them the best of luck solving the challenges Rhode Island faces in this tough economy.

The loss of a loved one is a crushing experience, but it’s all the more tragic for thousands of domestic partners in Rhode Island – gay and straight – who have no legal right to plan their spouse’s funeral. The Rhode Island legislature voted near-unanimously to guarantee that right. But yesterday, to just about everyone’s disgust, the state’s Republican Governor vetoed the bill:

State Rep. David Segal (D-Providence) said the bill "would have let domestic partners claim the bodies of their deceased partners, and arrange funerals for them."

Segal noted the funeral planning bill was supported by the overwhelming majority of members of the Assembly who oppose marriage for gays and lesbians[.] It passed by a vote of 63-1. And Segal expressed outrage over Carcieri’s veto.

"This bitter, cruel, pathetic man is grossly unworthy of the esteem the people of Rhode Island have bestowed upon him," Segal wrote in a blog post on Rhode Island’s Future.

Rep. Segal is particularly justified in his outrage. He sponsored the legislation after learning that a constituent had passed away, survived only by his partner of 15 years and no other next-of-kin. Without pre-written funeral instructions, the partner found he was unable to claim his loved one’s remains.

But Democrats aren’t giving up this fight. Segal and the bill’s State Senate sponsor have pledged to override the governor’s veto, and they have the votes to do it.