Calling a bill that would legalize same-sex civil unions “onerous and discriminatory,” more than a half-dozen gay advocacy groups called on Governor Chafee Tuesday to veto the legislation if it passes with language that was added to protect religious organizations and their employees.
In a two-page letter sent to the governor, the groups said the bill — scheduled for a Senate Judiciary Committee vote on Wednesday afternoon — “represents a huge step backward from Rhode Island’s longstanding nondiscrimination commitments” and provides “individuals and institutions a free-floating license to discriminate against a whole class of people, in defiance of general law.”
“This amendment could allow individuals, who are legally required to recognize everyone else’s legal commitments, to opt out of doing so only for gay and lesbian people,” the groups wrote. “In practical terms, this law could allow religiously affiliated hospitals to deny a civil union’s spouse’s right to be by his spouse’s side and make medical decisions for him.”
Click here for gay marriage resources in Rhode Island.
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