Excellent news! The Rhode Island Senate has just passed a marriage equality bill by a vote of 26-12, ensuring that the Ocean State will become the 10th state in the United States of America to have marriage equality. The State House had passed the measure 51-19 way back in January, and will have to reconcile the slightly different language "protecting religious liberties" in the Senate-passed version from the bill that passed the House. Openly gay Soeaker of the House Gordon Fox says that will probably happen next Thursday on May 2, and Governor Lincoln Chaffee has promised to sign the bill into law.
Senate President Theresa Paiva Reed allowed a vote on the measure (Senate Bill 0038 A) even though she personally opposed marriage equality and in 2011 she had used her position to prevent a House-passed marriage equality bill from becoming law.
Illinois and Delaware still have marriage equality bills pending which have passed one house of the legislature in each state.
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