NOM Claims Victory In Rhode Island

NOM is proclaiming victory in the Rhode Island marriage equality battle.

The Rhode Island newsblog GoLocalProv is reporting this morning: "GAY MARRIAGE CAN'T PASS RI HOUSE"!!!! Even Edith Ajello, a prominent Providence progressive, admits the bill is currently at least six to eight votes short of the 38 votes needed to pass the Rhode Island House. And the RI House was supposed to be the easy part. A lot of House members are scratching their heads, wondering why they should be pushed to vote on a bill causing such a public outcry—when it's clear, they say, that the bill is dead on arrival in the Senate. "Why we're going to take on a contentious issue when we know it's dormant in the other side of the building—higher minds would have to answer that question," Democrat Jon Brien said. "The Senate's not going to pass," said Robert Flaherty, D-Warwick. "It's just an exercise in futility." Don't stop now, in other words—another tremendous victory is within our grasp!

Rhode Island Marriage Equality says it's not over yet and promises the bill will pass sometime this year.