Civil unions may make for good legislative compromise in Rhode Island’s gay marriage debate, but the proposal won nothing but scorn during a public hearing at the Statehouse on Wednesday.
Gay marriage supporters told lawmakers that civil unions treat gay couples as second-class citizens. Opponents said the bill creates an easy steppingstone to full marriage rights for same-sex couples.
The bill would allow a gay couple to form a civil union granting all of the rights and benefits given to married couples under Rhode Island law.
The proposal was introduced after legislative leaders said gay marriage legislation lacked the votes to pass this year. But lawmakers searching for common ground in the General Assembly have so far only united both sides of the contentious gay marriage debate.
Neither side likes civil unions, they told lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee, but for very different reasons.
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