In R.I. House, leadership was split on prospects for gay-marriage bill

Dan82 · Apr 29, 2011

http://www.projo.com/news/content/GAY_MARRIAGE_DISPUTE_04-29-11_DBNQA8C_v19.1787130.html

Was there support in the state House of Representatives this session to pass legislation that would have granted gay couples the right to marry in Rhode Island?

Even among members of House Speaker Gordon D. Fox’s leadership team — the majority leaders and whips tasked with rounding up support for such legislation — disagreement remains.

After months of saying that he had strong support for such legislation, Fox conceded Wednesday that he ultimately did not have the votes to pass the bill in his own chamber, where his Democratic Party controls 65 of the 75 seats. Instead, Fox, who is openly gay, threw his support to legislation to be introduced Tuesday that would allow gay couples access to certain rights under state law through civil unions.

House Majority Leader Nicholas Mattiello, D-Cranston, echoing Fox, said it was questionable whether the votes were there in the House for a gay-marriage bill. “There are political realities,” he said Wednesday. “We have representatives from different constituencies and some of those constituencies indicated they were not ready for this...

http://www.projo.com/news/content/GAY_MARRIAGE_DISPUTE_04-29-11_DBNQA8C_v19.1787130.html
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In R.I. House, leadership was split on prospects for gay-marriage bill

Dan82 Full Member

Dan82
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