Disappointment in Rhode Island
Same-sex couples suffered a bitter legislative defeat in Rhode Island on Wednesday night when a bill allowing only civil unions -- but not marriage -- passed the state Senate, less than one week after New York granted gays and lesbians the right to marry. (more)
Same-sex couples suffered a bitter legislative defeat in Rhode Island on Wednesday night when a bill allowing only civil unions — but not marriage — passed the state Senate, less than one week after New York granted gays and lesbians the right to marry.
The prospects for gay marriage had looked good over the past year, with Gordon D. Fox, the openly gay speaker of the Democratic-controlled state House of Representatives, and independent Gov. Lincoln Chafee supporting a marriage bill. Critics of Wednesday’s action are unhappy because civil unions do not give couples the full legal rights granted by married status, saying that they “establish a second-class citizenry.” –ARK
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...The New York Times:
Less than a week after same-sex marriage was legalized in New York, the Rhode Island State Senate on Wednesday evening approved a bill allowing not marriage, but civil unions for gay couples, despite fierce opposition from gay rights advocates who called the legislation discriminatory.
The bill, which already passed in the state’s House of Representatives and which the governor said he was likely to sign, grants gay and lesbian couples most of the rights and benefits that Rhode Island provides married couples. It was offered as a compromise this spring after Gordon D. Fox, the openly gay speaker of the Democratic-controlled House, said he could not muster enough votes to pass a same-sex marriage bill.
… Gay rights advocates say the bill is unacceptable because it allows religious organizations not to recognize the unions. For example, they say, a Catholic hospital could choose not to allow a lesbian to make medical decisions on behalf of her partner, and a Catholic university could deny family medical leave to gay employees.
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President Obama says he thinks gay marriage should be legal, but isn't looking to legislate. JPMorgan Chase, the "best of the banks," loses a $2 billion bet and reignites the debate over bank regulation. The French election has austerity hawks worrying about a resocialized euro, and Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar's primary loss could usher in a new era of ideological warfare.
Talk about a killjoy: After a long slog and Thursday's sweet victory in the New Jersey Assembly, the same-sex marriage bill that had managed to make it through all the legislative steps except one was vetoed Friday by Gov. Chris Christie.
Martin Sheen, Anne Hathaway and Jane Lynch are but a few of the gay-marriage supporters who signed a letter, due to be delivered to the White House this spring, asking President Obama to quit his grappling and finally commit to marriage equality.
President Obama is still grappling with the notion of same-sex marriage, and it looks like his second in command is taking the issue a step further by declaring the "inevitability" of gay marriage in the future.
Last year 95 percent of France’s civil unions (known as pactes civil de solidarité) were signed by heterosexual couples, according to the New York Times (more).
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