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Showing posts with the label Rhode Island Senate

Rhode Island's gay civil unions: Bishop says, ‘God will … pass judgment upon our state’

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Image via Wikipedia “Can there be any doubt that Almighty God will, in His own time and way, pass judgment upon our state, its leaders and citizens, for abandoning His commands and embracing public immorality?”  That was how Providence Bishop Thomas Tobin reacted to today’s passage of legislation approving homosexual civil unions in Rhode Island . The Rhode Island Senate approved the final version of the bill by a vote of 21 to 16. Gov. Lincoln Chafee , who advocated the legalization of homosexual “marriage” in his inaugural address, is expected to sign it into law. The bill was passed by the House in May and made it through the Senate without amendment, despite opposition from both sides of the issue. Homosexual advocacy organizations have objected to the legislation because it includes a provision protecting religious entities, including hospitals and schools, from being forced to recognize the legal standing of same-sex unions. Martha Holt, Board Chair of Marriage Equal...

Rhode Island House panel approves civil union legislation

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Image via Wikipedia A political compromise on marriage legislation has made temporary political bedfellows of two intractable foes in Rhode Island : pro-family advocates and gay activists. Both the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) have come out in opposition to a civil unions bill that will give homosexual couples all the rights and benefits of marriage, except the name – albeit for very different reasons. The House Judiciary Committee voted has 9-3 to approve the civil unions legislation for a full vote on the House floor. The vote should take place Thursday. Rep. Edith Ajello (D-Providence) described the bill as “better than nothing,” according to the Boston Globe . However, MERI refuses to support the bill, arguing that civil unions legislation would mean second class status for homosexual couples. NOM’s Rhode Island chapter has also denounced the measure, but because it paves the way for the courts to redefine marriage aw...