Rhode Island is State Number 10 for Marriage Equality
ILLINOIS was hoping to be state number 10 –
but Rhode Island beat them to it!
Gays, lesbians, their friends and families erupted into cheers Thursday
following a final 56-15 vote in the Rhode Island House, and then again
an hour later when Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed the bill into law on the
Statehouse steps.
“Democracy feels good, doesn’t it?” said House Speaker Gordon Fox,
D-Providence, who is gay. Fox struggled to keep his composure as he
addressed the crowd at the Statehouse, looking over at his longtime
partner, Marcus LaFond. “This tells me our relationship does matter. It
means that we mean something.”
The first marriages will take place Aug. 1, when the new law takes effect.
