According to the March 17 Warwick Beacon story "Marriage Bill in Limbo", House Speaker Gordon Fox's spokesman conceded there is no immediate plan for the House Judiciary Committee to vote on gay marriage; he says he doubts the bill will be moved until "some sort of concession can be reached."

The Beacon says only two courses are now under consideration: substitute a civil unions bill, or put the issue before the voters on the 2012 ballot.

However gay marriage advocates "oppose those measures because they say same-sex couples should have the full rights of marriage and they fear a referendum could result in defeat."

"Legislators interviewed for this story," writes the Beacon, "saw no other course for the bill, short of letting it die in the House or passing it and facing possible defeat in the Senate, than replacing the word marriage or bringing it to the voters."

Warwick-Cranston Rep. Joseph McNamara remains adamant against letting the people vote:

“Do you think the rest of the bus would have voted to let Rosa Parks sit in the front seat when she did?” he told the Beacon.

He also said National Organization for Marriage (NOM)'s mailer to his constituents "stirred up a lot of hatred."

But as McNamara, who is a Catholic, sees it, “I represent all the constituents, not just the ones who look like me.”

We wonder what about the ones who look like this?

But another Warwick legislator Joseph Trillo told the Beacon he will oppose gay marriage:

“That word is taken,” he said of marriage.

(photo: www.projo.com)