Testimony went late into the night last Thursday as supporters and opponents of gay marriage discussed a pair of bills before the Senate judiciary committee at the State House.

Bill S0136, introduced by Senator Leo Blais, R-Dist. 21, seeks to amend Rhode Island’s constitution to specify marriage as an institution between a man and a woman. Bill S0147, on the other hand, calls for the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Though several bills supporting gay marriage have been introduced in the state Senate before, proponents of the current bill believe “that there is a better chance than in the past to have fruitful dialogue,” said Susan MacNeil, director of development and communications for the advocacy group Marriage Equality of Rhode Island.

The group has been working on the issue for ten years, but after the November election and the passage of Proposition 8 in California, which eliminated the right to gay marriage in that state, there has been an outpouring of public support for gay marriage, MacNeil said.

“People want to be part of the marriage equality movement,” she said.

Many of the Ocean State’s neighbors have already taken action. Same-sex marriage is currently legal in Connecticut and Massachusetts, while Vermont, New Jersey and New Hampshire have authorized civil unions. See Gay marriage bills duel in Senate

The Brown Daily Herald - 

MONTPELIER — State legislative leaders announced this afternoon they intend to take up a gay marriage bill when the Legislature reconvenes in two weeks.
Senate President Pro Tempore Peter Shumlin and Speaker of the House Shap Smith said at a join news conference at the Statehouse that the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a week of testimony and a public hearing on the matter. They predicted a bill would emerge from committee by week’s end.

The Legislature is on a two-week hiatus and will resume work March 17.

Shumlin and Smith also outlined a number of other priorities for the remainder of the session, including economic development measures. See Leaders vow to pass gay marriage bill BurlingtonFreePress.com