Rhode Island House to debate same-sex marriage

The speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives, Gordon D. Fox, he is doing everything he can to move a marriage equality bill forward, according to the Providence Journal. Fox is openly gay.
Rhode Island’s new governor, Lincoln Chaffee, is an independent. He replaced a Republican governor who did not support a same-sex marriage bill. Chaffee supports passage of marriage equality in the state.
Currently, Rhode Island recognizes marriage performed elsewhere but does not issue licenses to same-sex couples.
Fox said there is strong support for the bill in the House but passage in the Senate was not certain.
The bill would recognize “civil marriage” between persons of the same sex.