Talk Elections

A gay marriage bill will be introduced in the state of Rhode Island Thursday, the final day bills may be introduced. Last year Rhode Island passed a civil unions bill into law, but the marriage equality bill fell short of support amidst several poison pill amendment attempts. Governor Chafee has indicated he would sign a same-sex marriage bill.

“We’re absolutely coming back with a marriage bill this year,” Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) executive director Ray Sullivan told reporters yesterday. “A lot of politicians would prefer that we just go away and not continue to push this issue, but we will not go away until we see the Governor sign this bill into law.”

Sullivan adds that “The majority of Rhode islanders are on our side on this issue,” reports GoLocalProv.

Quinn makes it clear he supports same-sex marriage in Illinois

May 11, 2012

A day after President Barack Obama endorsed equal marriage rights for gay and lesbian couples, Gov. Pat Quinn made it clear that he stands with the president on the politically divisive issue of marriage equality.

The governor signed a bill legalizing civil unions in Illinois last year but has long been vague about whether he supports same-sex marriage. On Thursday, a Quinn spokeswoman left no room for equivocation, expressing the governor's strongest stance on the issue since he ascended to the state's top office in 2009.

"Gov. Quinn joins with President Obama in supporting marriage equality and looks forward to working on this issue in the future with the General Assembly," Quinn spokeswoman Mica Matsoff said.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island's governor on Monday declared that the state will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual ones when it comes to health insurance and a slew of other benefits.

The executive order signed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee in a Statehouse ceremony directs state agencies to recognize marriages performed out of state as legal and treat same-sex married couples the same as heterosexual ones.

Some gay couples married outside Rhode Island -- where civil unions are allowed, but gay marriage is illegal -- have not been afforded certain rights because state law is not clear on the subject.

In 2007, then-Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued an opinion in favor of recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages, but it was nonbinding. Chafee said his signing of the executive order is "following through" on that opinion.

Chafee called his order an important step but said he would continue to press for Rhode Island to enact gay marriage.

"We're overdue, way overdue," he said.

Chafee said President Barack Obama's announcement last week that he now supports gay marriage is positive momentum. But he said he did not expect gay marriage to pass in Rhode Island this legislative session.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.—Rhode Island's governor on Monday declared that the state will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual ones when it comes to health insurance and a slew of other benefits.

The executive order signed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee in a Statehouse ceremony directs state agencies to recognize marriages performed out of state as legal and treat same-sex married couples the same as heterosexual ones.

Some gay couples married outside Rhode Island -- where civil unions are allowed, but gay marriage is illegal -- have not been afforded certain rights because state law is not clear on the subject.

In 2007, then-Attorney General Patrick Lynch issued an opinion in favor of recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages, but it was nonbinding. Chafee said his signing of the executive order is "following through" on that opinion.

Chafee called his order an important step but said he would continue to press for Rhode Island to enact gay marriage.

"We're overdue, way overdue," he said.

Chafee said President Barack Obama's announcement last week that he now supports gay marriage is positive momentum.

But he said he did not expect gay marriage to pass in Rhode Island this legislative session.

Though gay marriage has the backing of Rhode Island's governor and its Speaker of the House, bills to legalize it have yet to be put to a vote. Opponents say the bills simply do not have enough support from state legislators.  

Hearings for gay marriage bills have taken place in both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees.

State Rep. Edith Ajello, D-Providence, chairs the committee that has considered the bill in the House. She said she is confident gay marriage will be legalized.

But votes on the bills remain "on a knife's edge," said Christopher Plante, executive director for the Rhode Island chapter of the National Organization for Marriage. He added that if House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence, had enough support for the bill, he would already be calling for a vote. Fox, who is openly gay, strongly backs gay marriage.

Sen. Rhoda Perry, D-Providence, said the Senate is awaiting a House vote. "It's a very emotional issue," Perry said, adding that legislators were "all sitting on tenterhooks, waiting to see what happens."

Perry said Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, D-Jamestown and Newport, who personally opposes gay marriage, has not officially stated whether or not she will hold a Senate floor vote on the bill.