Civil Union Certificates Available

The Town of Johnston can now issue civil union certificates, following Gov. Lincoln Chafee's July 2 .

Town Clerk Vincent Baccari, during a phone interview on July 5, said his office hadn't received any requests as of 11:30 a.m. that day.

"We're ready for anyone who requests them," Baccari explained.

Under the new law, couples who register for a civil union certificate and pay the $24 fee — the same amount as for marriage licenses — have 90 days to have the certificate signed and filed with their town hall, Baccari said.

(A copy of the original bill is attached to this article.)

Johnston Rep. Peter Petrarca sponsored the bill, H6103, and following an amendment that allows churches or religious institutions to refuse to recognize the certificates, the state Senate approved the bill by a 21-16 vote on June 29.

Rep. Frank Ferri, who represents Warwick and , issued a statement against the law because of the new language attached to it.

"The amendment that is attached to our civil union bill goes beyond the privilege of a religious institution’s right to not recognize the unions of same-sex couples and blatantly promotes discrimination and defies basic human dignity," said in the statement. "To have the statutory right to turn someone away from being with a loved one in a hospital or nursing home or deny housing is a disgrace and I will submit legislation in the next session to correct such an obvious attempt to subvert the rights of a minority of our citizens."