Last weekend, Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed the state’s civil-union law, a compromise neither marriage-equality advocates nor opponents like.
The bill included an exemption for religious institutions — hospitals, cemeteries and schools — allowing them to refuse to recognize rights granted through the union. (Potentially, a Catholic hospital could refuse to allow a partner to make end-of-life decisions.)
Earlier this year, the state’s openly gay Speaker of the House killed pending marriage legislation when he knew that there weren’t enough votes to pass it.
Despite the religious exemption, the law does afford same-sex couples many of the rights of marriage.
Chafee, an independent who supports marriage equality, acknowledged the legislation was flawed, but called the bill a “foundation” for achieving further rights.
In the Northeast, Rhode Island and Maine are the holdouts against gay marriage: Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York allow them. Elsewhere in the country, Iowa and the District of Columbia also offer marriage.
In contrast, several states offer civil unions or domestic partnerships similar to marriage, including New Jersey, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, California, Nevada, Washington and Oregon. A few other states offer partnerships that offer some of the rights of marriage, including Maryland, Colorado and Wisconsin.
For Rhode Island, this particular fight seems to have left a bitter taste for marriage proponents. The only out senator, Donna Nesselbush (D-Pawtucket), voted against civil unions, saying, “From a conscience point of view, I couldn’t press the green button and vote for that. We can’t confuse rights with equality.”
But she acknowledged that it’s a “huge step forward,” and said some will enter into unions because of the related rights: “Gay people can’t give up the rights of civil unions to spite their face.”
Nesselbush is right in both her conscientious objection and that same-sex couples should think hard about refusing to civil unionize on principle. Unfortunately, principle won’t help in a medical emergency or legal situation.
Rhode Island is the smallest state in the nation, just 37 miles wide and 48 miles in length. It’s bordered by states that all have marriage equality. And, according to Freedom to Marry, it acknowledges marriages performed in other states.
For now, Rhode Islanders should get the civil union and, if they feel strongly about “marriage,” take a quick drive to a neighboring state to get formally hitched. And they should keep pushing for marriage. They are certainly a lot closer to marriage equality than Pennsylvanians.