Opponents of same-sex marriage protest in Rhode Island's capital Jan. 15, 2013. (Associated Press)-
Lafourche Parish is preparing to begin more than $6 million in flood protection projects for the Raceland and Des Allemands areas.more>> Lafourche Parish is preparing to begin more than $6 million in flood protection projects for the Raceland and Des Allemands areas.more>> Baton Rouge's police chief says it was a mistake not to take everyone to jail accused in the beating of a family at a gas station.
more>> Baton Rouge's police chief says it was a mistake not to take everyone to jail accused in the beating of a family at a gas station.
more>> New Orleans officials and cultural advocates say the Mother's Day parade shootings that left 20 people injured won't spell the end of second-line parades, the local tradition that celebrates the city and its people.more>> New Orleans officials and cultural advocates say the Mother's Day parade shootings that left 20 people injured won't spell the end of second-line parades, the local tradition that celebrates the city and its people.more>> Police are investigating two fatal shootings that left a 37-year-old man dead in Central City and a 20 -year-old man dead in the Florida area.more>> Police are investigating two fatal shootings that left a 37-year-old man dead in Central City and a 20 -year-old man dead in the Florida area.more>> The New Orleans Police Department is investigating a shooting in the 1200 block of Horace Street that killed a woman Friday night.more>> The New Orleans Police Department is investigating a shooting in the 1200 block of Horace Street that killed a woman Friday night.more>> The shooting death of a whooping crane has Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials asking for help from the public.
more>> The shooting death of a whooping crane has Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Division agents and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officials asking for help from the public.
more>> FOX 8 obtained a copy of a pre-trial services report on one of the suspected gunmen in the Mother's Day shooting.more>> FOX 8 obtained a copy of a pre-trial services report on one of the suspected gunmen in the Mother's Day shooting.more>> A couple of Thibodaux doctors in the business of making people well have a new venture aimed at simply making people feel good.
more>> A couple of Thibodaux doctors in the business of making people well have a new venture aimed at simply making people feel good.more>> Ray Lewis ended his long football career with a Super Bowl win on the turf and now, 8-year old Scooter Compton gets to play on it.
more>> Ray Lewis ended his long football career with a Super Bowl win on the turf and now, 8-year old Scooter Compton gets to play on it.more>> Investigators with the New Orleans Police Department arrested 19-year-old Monique Pepe Friday for having allowed Shawn Scott to hide out at her residence.
more>> Investigators with the New Orleans Police Department arrested 19-year-old Monique Pepe Friday for having allowed Shawn Scott to hide out at her residence. more>>
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - The Rhode Island House has overwhelmingly passed legislation to allow gay couples to marry.
The House passed the legislation 51-19 Thursday following an emotional debate that touched on religion, civil rights and the nature of marriage.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where supporters and opponents say its fate is difficult to predict.
The vote was personal to Ken Fish, who showed up at the Statehouse early to get a seat in the viewing gallery. The 70-year-old Warwick resident says he and his partner of 25 years have long waited for Rhode Island to pass gay marriage. He called Thursday's vote "history in the making."
Rhode Island is now the only state in New England that doesn't allow same-sex couples to wed.
(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
