NEW: Only 68 Couples have Filed for Civil Unions Since Last Year
Monday, August 20, 2012
Only 68 Rhode Island couples have obtained civil union licenses since the civil union law took effect earlier this year, according to a press release sent today by the ACLU.
The organization suggests that Rhode Islanders have overwhelmingly rejected the law based on the so-called Rep. Doc Corvese amendment, which gives religious institutions an out when it comes to recognizing civil unions.
According the ACLU, Hawaii and Delaware, which have friendlier civil unions laws, reported handing out 106 and 85 civil union licenses respectively in their first month after passing th law.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe numbers have only gotten worse in 2010. From January to June of this year, only 11 couples obtained civil union license, according to the ACLU.
House Speaker Gordon Fox has indicated that he’ll force a vote on same-sex marriage early on in the 2013 General Assembly session, but the Senate is still considered a major roadblock. Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed and Senate Judiciary chairman Michael McCaffrey are both against marriage equality.
