Gov. Tim Pawlenty said Wednesday that he would veto a bill aimed at giving same-sex partners the same end-of-life rights as married couples, saying the bill was unnecessary and would “stoke up a political controversy on a hot-button issue.”

Supporters balked at the governor’s rationale, saying his suggestion that same-sex couples could achieve the same rights through a will still leaves gays on unequal footing with their heterosexual counterparts — married couples have those rights without a will.

“He’s wrong,” asserted Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul, a House sponsor of the bill.

The bill is the product of Project 515, an advocacy group for gays and lesbians named after the number of Minnesota laws the group says discriminate against same-sex couples. The group is not pursuing marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Project 515 got its first bill passed last year, which protected the homes of the surviving partner of a cohabitating couple should the state try to force a sale to cover the deceased’s medical bills. Pawlenty signed it.

The new bill gives same-sex partners the right to make decisions about how to dispose of a deceased partner’s body — something gay couples say is needed because some gays and lesbians are estranged from their immediate families. The bill passed the House and Senate this week and also gives surviving partners the right to sue those responsible should their partner be killed.

Senate sponsor Yvonne Prettner Solon, a Duluth DFLer, said wills not only cost money to draw up, but can be problematic because of errors or omissions. She also said the governor’s rationale does not cover the right to file wrongful death suits.

“I think he’s missing the point, though, that this is really an issue of fairness and equality,” Prettner Solon said.

Should the governor veto the bill, Prettner Solon said an override was unlikely.

“I would hope that we could appeal to the governor’s sense of compassion and fairness,” she said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Jason Hoppin can be reached at 651-228-5445.