Ronald Reagan San Quentin's gas chamber. When Reagan was governor in 1969, he signed the Family Law Act, which was an amalgam of two bills that had been written and revised by the California State Legislature over more than two years. It became the first no-fault divorce legislation in the United States. Years later, no-fault divorce became Reagan's greatest regret. Reagan's terms as governor helped to shape the policies he would pursue in his later political career as president. By campaigning on a platform of sending "the welfare bums back to work," he spoke out against the idea of the welfare state.
Ronald Reagan upcoming centenary of Reagan's birth. Independence Day 2011 saw the unveiling of another statue to Reagan—this time in the British capital of London, outside the U.S. embassy in Grosvenor Square. The unveiling was supposed to be attended by Reagan's wife Nancy, but she did not attend; former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice took her place and read a statement on her behalf; further to the former First Lady's absence, President Reagan's friend and British prime minister during his presidency, Baroness Thatcher, was also unable to attend due to frail health. Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (; February 6, 1911June 5,