After yesterday's brief Senate Judiciary Committee hearing which advanced it to the full Senate, that body will take up the marriage equality bill this afternoon, the AP reports:
Wednesday's vote comes after the Senate Judiciary Committee voted 7-4 Tuesday to forward the legislation to the Senate floor. Dozens of supporters cheered and cried following the vote. Ken Fish, a 70-year-old gay man from Warwick, said he watched the committee vote with a mixture of disbelief and elation.
"It's almost unreal to think we're here, after all these years," he said. "I wasn't sure we'd ever get here."
If the bill passes the Senate it must return to the House for a largely procedural vote on small changes made to the bill on the Senate side. House Speaker Gordon Fox, D-Providence, said a final vote could come as early as next week.
Yesterday also saw an announcement from the Senate Republican caucus that they were in unanimous support of the bill.
