Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee
said on Thursday that he's opposed to a proposed bill which seeks to
put gay marriage up to a popular vote.
Bills seeking to legalize marriage
equality in Rhode Island were introduced in both houses last week.
While Democrats control both chambers
of the General Assembly, passage in the Senate, where Democratic
leaders oppose marriage equality, remains in doubt. Currently, the
proposal has only 11 co-sponsors in the 38-member Senate.
State Senator Frank Ciccone, a Democrat
from Providence, has said that he plans to introduce a bill which
would put the issue of marriage equality on the ballot.
Chafee, an independent, shot down the
idea, saying that lawmakers were elected to make such decisions and
that he would likely veto such a measure if it reached his desk.
Ciccone introduced a similar measure
last year. He also introduced a failed resolution which sought to
overturn an executive order signed by Chafee recognizing the
out-of-state marriages of gay and lesbian couples, effectively
legalizing marriage for gay couples who marry in a neighboring state.
(Related: Obama
calls on Rhode Island lawmakers to approve gay marriage.)