A proposed compromise to legalize same-sex civil unions in Rhode Island, was met with scorn by gay marriage supporters and opponents at a state House committee hearing on Wednesday evening.
The bill is modeled after civil unions laws recently approved in Delaware, Illinois and Hawaii.
While same-sex marriage supporters said the bill would merely legalize treatment of gay couples as a second-class minority, proponents of one-man, one-woman marriage said the bill would amount to a state sanction of immoral behavior and open the door to same-sex marriage being approved in the courts.
What differed from the earlier hearing, on a bill that would have legalized same-sex marriage, was that this time just about everybody was there to voice opposition.
The civil unions bill — which would grant same-sex couples all of the rights and benefits given to married couples under Rhode Island law — was introduced after House Speaker Gordon Fox (D-Providence), who is openly gay, announced that a gay marriage bill lacked the votes to pass this year.
Same-sex marriage supporters argued that if the Defense of Marriage Act — already ruled unconstitutional in federal court — is eventually overturned, same-sex couples in Rhode Island who have entered into civil unions will not have the same federal rights as married couples.
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There are 1,138 federal laws and programs that apply to people who are married, which married same-sex couples do not currently enjoy, due to DOMA.
The House Judiciary Committee could vote as early as next week on whether to send the measure to the full House.
