Wednesday, May 07, 2008

Marriage equality, medical marijuana, oh my!

Coming your way, at the State House:

From MERI:

On Wednesday, May 7, the Rhode Island Assembly's House Judiciary Committee will hear testimony on several bills addressing marriage equality rights for all Rhode Island couples, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Supporters of marriage equality, including several members of MERI, are expected to testify.

WHAT: Marriage equality legislation, pro and con:

Bills under consideration that MERI supports include:

• Compassion for All Families Act – Sponsored by Rep. John McCauley of Providence, H. 7711 would give domestic partners the spousal benefits of family medical leave, nursing home visitation and funeral planning.

• Equal Divorce Act – Sponsored by Rep. Gordon Fox of Providence, H. 7939 would allow same-sex couples who married outside of Rhode Island to divorce in Rhode Island.

• Equal Marriage Act – Sponsored by Rep. Arthur Handy of Cranston, H. 7839 would allow all Rhode Island couples the equal freedom to marry.

Bills that MERI opposes include:

• Divorce legislation – Sponsored by Rep. Al Gemma of Warwick, H. 7081 would codify into law the Rhode Island does not recognize marriages between same-sex couples. Although the legislation would permit same-sex couples to divorce in RI, the bill would likely close the Massachusetts border to Rhode Island same-sex couples who wish to marry there and doesn't' address jurisdiction for same-sex couples married in Canada or overseas.

• A constitutional amendment – Sponsored by Rep. John Brien of Woonsocket, H. 8017 would define marriage as between a man and a woman and would nullify any recognition of marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships for same-sex couples.

From FairVoteRI:

Youth Voter Pre-registration, H 7106, is out of committee and scheduled for a vote on the House floor this Wednesday. This is a big step towards turning early registration for 16 and 17 year olds into law. The push to get young Rhode Islanders excited about democracy is moving forward— please come to the State House on Wednesday afternoon at 4 PM, and, in the meantime, contact your state representative and ask them to support this common-sense, non-partisan reform.

From the RI Patient Advocacy Coalition:

On Thursday, May 8, 2008, at 4:00pm, the Senate will vote on S2693 in the Senate chamber at the State House. This bill would allow the Department of Health to license a non-profit organization to serve as a Compassion Center, to grow and distribute medical marijuana for registered patients. THIS WILL BE THIS BILL'S FIRST FLOOR VOTE.

Civil rights | General Assembly | Healthcare | Social issues | Voting