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RI, USA: House Panel to Consider Marriage Equality Bill Today

Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

A Rhode Island House panel on Wednesday will consider a bill which would legalize gay marriage in the state.

The House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on the marriage bill, which is sponsored by Democratic Representative Arthur Handy.

Senator Rhoda Perry is expected to carry the proposal in the Senate. Rhode Island lawmakers last year abandoned efforts to approve a gay marriage bill in favor of civil unions over the loud opposition of many gay rights activists.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Find more articles and gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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RI, USA: Bill Would Legalize Divorce for Gay, Lesbian Couples

Friday, April 6th, 2012

Rhode Island Divorce EqualityFirst John Fazzino went to Massachusetts to marry his husband. Then the Rhode Island man had to go back to get divorced. Rhode Island does not recognize same-sex marriage, and it does not allow resident gay couples married in states like Massachusetts to file for divorce. That means people like Fazzino must move across the state line before obtaining a divorce — for a year, in Fazzino’s case.

“I was told the only way was to leave Rhode Island,” said the 60-year-old Providence artist, yoga instructor and garden designer, whose legal address is now a friend’s home just over the state line. “I didn’t have a choice. So now I’m basically a roommate.”

Legislation in the Rhode Island General Assembly would allow same-sex couples who have been legally married outside Rhode Island to file for divorce without leaving the state. Supporters said it’s wrong to force residents to leave to sever the marital knot, even if their union isn’t recognized in their home state. But opponents of gay marriage said divorce could be the first step down a slippery legal road to full marriage rights for gays.

Full Story from Boston.com

Click here for gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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RI: Marriage Equality Could Bring $1.2 Million to State

Thursday, March 22nd, 2012

Rhode Island Marriage Equality WindfallA new study says authorizing gay marriage in Rhode Island would be a boon for government coffers.

The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law says Rhode Island stands to generate nearly $1.2 million in new government revenue over three years if the state allows gay and lesbian couples to marry.

The new revenue would come primarily in the form of additional tax revenue. The study estimates that same-sex weddings would generate $400,000 in new sales tax dollars over three years.

Full Story from Boston.com

Click here for gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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RI: Marriage Equality Bill Faces Roadblocks in Legislature

Tuesday, March 20th, 2012

Rhode Island Marriage Equality BillLawmakers in the Rhode Island General Assembly have proposed legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in the state every year since 1997.

A poll conducted last year by Public Policy Polling, a national polling company focused on politics, shows that a majority of Rhode Island voters support same-sex marriage, and Gov. Lincoln Chafee ’75 P’14 has previously said he would sign such legislation into law. But the bill faces opposition from a Catholic voter base and conservative legislators.

While some same-sex marriage advocates believe the Ocean State will eventually follow the lead of its New England neighbors and legalize same-sex marriage, re-election campaigns and religion are likely to prove barriers to passage in 2012.

Full Story from the Brown Daily Herald

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RI: Bishop Says Marriage Equality “Enshrines Immoral Activity”

Saturday, March 17th, 2012

Catholic Church in NYRev. Thomas Tobin, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence, has said gay marriage “enshrines into civil law immoral activity.”

The Rhode Island General Assembly last year approved a law recognizing gay and lesbian couples with civil unions as a compromise to a gay marriage bill which appeared to be headed to defeat in the Senate. Supporters have said they are planning to reintroduce the legislation this session.

Tobin, who earlier barred gay Catholics from entering a civil union, criticized the effort in an op-ed titled Five Problems with Homosexual “Marriage” published Wednesday in the Rhode Island Catholic.

Full Story from On Top Magazine

Click here for gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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RI: Only 46 Civil Unions in State Since Inception

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2012

Rhode Island Civil UnionsJust 46 couples received civil union licenses in the six months after Rhode Island enacted a law allowing them.

The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union compiled the number, which it calls “embarrassingly small.” The group says gays and lesbians shunned the statute in part because of a broad exemption in it that allows religious organizations to refuse to recognize the relationships.

The civil unions law was approved last year after the General Assembly dropped an effort to pass gay marriage. The law allows gay couples to enter into unions that provide the same legal rights and benefits given to married couples.

Full Story from the Post Crescent

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RI: Marriage Equality Bill Introduced in House

Monday, February 20th, 2012

Rhode Island Marriage Equality BillA marriage equality bill was among the three LGBT rights measures that state lawmakers introduced on Thursday.State Rep. Art Handy (D-Cranston) and state Sen. Rhoda Perry (D-Providence) introduced the Equal Access to Marriage Act in the House of Representatives.

A marriage equality bill was introduced last year, but gay House Speaker Gordon Fox (D-Providence) withdrew it after he said there were not enough votes for it to pass. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed (D-Newport) opposes marriage for same-sex couples. Both chambers are controlled by Democrats.

Fox instead backed supported a civil union bill that lawmakers passed last June. Governor Lincoln Chafee signed the measure into law in July.

Full Story from Edge Boston

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RI: Gay Rights Group Says Marriage Equality Bill to Be Introduced This Year in Legislature

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Rhode Island Marriage EqualityA bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Rhode Island will “absolutely” be introduced during this legislative session, Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) executive director Ray Sullivan confirmed Tuesday.

The bill will be part of the organization’s legislative agenda, which Sullivan said will be released later this week. Advocates in the Ocean State are hoping to capitalize off of momentum in other states, including Washington, which became the seventh state to legalize gay marriage earlier this week. Legislatures in New Jersey and Maryland have also taken steps in favor of the measure.

“We’re absolutely coming back with a marriage bill this year,” Sullivan said. “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.”

Full Story from Go Local prov

Click here for gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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Marriage Equality Rhode Island Expects Passage Within 24 Months

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011

Rhode Island Marriage EqualityWill same-sex couples be able to legally marry in the Ocean State in 2012?

Marriage Equality Rhode Island will continue their efforts to pass a marriage equality bill when the state’s General Assembly reconvenes next month. Ray Sullivan, campaign director for MERI, told EDGE he expects marriage equality will come to the Ocean State within an 18-month to 2-year timeframe.

“It’s an issue of fundamental fairness and equality,” he said. A marriage equality bill was introduced earlier this year in the House, but gay Speaker Gordon Fox withdrew it in April after he said there were not enough votes for it to pass. Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed (D-Newport) opposes marriage for same-sex couples.

Full Story from Edge Boston

Click here for gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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Rhode Island, Illinois Civil Unions Laws See Very Different Results

Friday, December 9th, 2011

Rhode Island and Illinois Civil Union LawsCivil unions may be slow to catch on in Rhode Island, but gay and lesbian couples in Illinois are obtaining them in great numbers.

An Illinois gay marriage advocacy group, Equality Illinois, says its study of county records in that state shows more than 3,700 couples have gotten civil union licenses since that state began offering the option June 1.

In Rhode Island, only 39 couples had obtained licenses as of last month. State lawmakers in the Ocean State approved civil unions in July after legislation to authorize gay marriage fizzled.

Full Story from WAND TV

Click here for gay wedding resources in Illinois.

Click here for gay wedding resources in Rhode Island.

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