Recognition of same-sex unions in Rhode Island is legal in the form of civil unions in that state as of July 1, 2011. Since 2002, Rhode Island has allowed for unregistered domestic partnerships that provide some of the rights and benefits of marriage (such as inheritance rights from firefighters, correctional officers or police officers, funeral rights, property rights, and the right to visit a partner in a hospital or nursing home).[1][2]
In June 2011, the Rhode Island General Assembly passed a bill to establish civil unions beginning on July 1.[3][4] This bill emerged as a compromise following a contentious debate about legalizing same-sex marriage.[5] Governor Chafee signed the bill on July 2, 2011 and the bill retroactively took effect on July 1, 2011.[6] The bill contains extensive and controversial exemptions that allow any religiously affiliated organization or institution, such as schools, universities and hospitals, to deny benefits to married same-sex couples, which is one reason for its unpopularity among marriage equality advocates.
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In September 2006, Massachusetts Superior Court Justice Thomas E. Connolly ruled that same-sex couples who live in Rhode Island can marry in Massachusetts. The ruling was a response to a 1913 law that prohibited Massachusetts from performing marriages that were not legal in the couple's home state. The ruling does not impel the state to grant same-sex marriages in Rhode Island.[7]
In February 2007, Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch issued an opinion advising that same-sex marriages performed in Massachusetts be recognized in Rhode Island. He said that "his interpretation permitted recognition of the marriages, although he acknowledged that it was just an opinion and did not have the force of law."[8]
In December 2007, the Rhode Island Supreme Court stated, in a 3–2 opinion, that the state's Family Court lacks jurisdiction to hear a divorce petition involving same-sex couple who were married in Massachusetts.[9].
In early 2011, an effort to legalize same-sex marriage in the state began with the introduction of a bill to that effect. Governor Lincoln Chafee (Independent) had indicated that he would sign the bill, if approved by the state legislature.[10] In April 2011, the effort appeared to stall due to lack of support in the legislature.[11]
In May 2011, a bill to legalize civil unions (rather than full gender-neutral marriage) was introduced in the Rhode Island General Assembly.[12] On May 19, 2011, the bill passed the Rhode Island House of Representatives by a vote of 62 to 11 (with 2 Representatives not voting).[13] The Rhode Island Senate then passed the full Senate in a vote of 21–16 on June 29, 2011.[3] The governor signed the bill on July 2, 2011, and the bill retroactively took effect on July 1, 2011.[14][4]
An independent May 2009 poll conducted by Brown University showed that 60% of Rhode Islanders supported legalizing same-sex marriage, while 31% opposed doing so.[15]
Various polls have been commissioned by participants in the same-sex marriage debate, including Rhode Island Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders and the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), which opposes same-sex marriage. The poll results reflect different question wording and sampling, with NOM's polls generally showing far weaker support for same-sex marriage than other polls.[16]
Forty-three percent of Rhode Islanders are Catholic,[17] and one survey showed that 63% of Catholics supported same-sex marriage provided it did not infringe on the church's right to marry whomever it chooses.[18]
Since the legalization of civil unions in Rhode Island, participation has been very low, possibly due to the expansive religious exemptions.[19]
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