Tuesday in a bipartisan vote of 7 to 4 Rhode Island’s Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send legislation to allow gay & lesbian couples to marry to the full Senate. The Senate will soon debate & vote on the marriage bill. Janson Wu, staff attorney for Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) who testified before the Judiciary Committee in favor of the bill stated, “We’re grateful that the Senate Judiciary Committee has taken this critical step toward ensuring that gay & lesbian couples can demonstrate & celebrate their love & commitment by getting married in Rhode Island. Only marriage gives gay & lesbian couples & their families the recognition & respect they need and deserve. GLAD is hopeful that the full Senate will act quickly to pass this bill. Rhode Island is poised to make history with the passage of the marriage equality bill. The leadership of the state legislature will stand as yet another example that our country is moving in the direction of fairness & justice for all American families & that is the right direction.” The Rhode Island House passed the bill with a large, bipartisan majority in January. Governor Lincoln Chafee, a vocal proponent of marriage equality has long pledged to sign a marriage bill into law. When the bill passes Rhode Island would become the 10th state, in addition to the District of Columbia, to allow gay & lesbian couples to legally marry. It would also become the final New England state to enact marriage equality, solidifying the region’s longstanding leadership in recognizing & protecting the dignity & freedom of LGBT people. Updates to Come…:)
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