If signed, the law would take effect on July 1, making Rhode Island the fifth state in the union to allow civil unions between same-sex couples.  Such unions are currently permitted in New Jersey and Illinois, and will be allowed in Delaware and Hawaii beginning January 1, 2012.  Three West Coast states -- California, Oregon and Washington -- plus Nevada, also allow for "comprehensive domestic partnerships," largely considered an equivalent to their civil union counterparts.  Despite robust opposition to the measure, Rhode Island's Senate Judiciary Committee approved the bill by a vote of 7-4, sending it to the Democrat-controlled Senate floor where lawmakers voted in its favor, according to Senate spokesman, Greg Pare.  The legislation, which passed overwhelmingly in the state's lower house on May 19, affords same-sex couples a host of new state tax breaks, health-care benefits and greater ease of inheritance.  But it also drew sharp criticism from religious leaders and opposition groups who say it will lead to court-ordered action that would eventually legalize same-sex marriage.  Similar legal action in Connecticut and Massachusetts resulted in those states adopting same-sex marriage laws, noted Christopher Plante, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage's Rhode Island chapter.  Chafee -- who is supportive of potential legislation that legalizes same-sex marriage -- says civil unions are "a step in the right direction," according to Trainor.  Meanwhile, gay rights activists -- like Marriage Equality Rhode Island -- say that while they support the civil union bill, they would prefer legislation that permits same-sex couples to wed.  The group urged Chafee not to sign the measure if it includes a House amendment that permits groups with religious affiliations to refuse certain legal rights provided to civil unions.
Less than a week after New York became the nation's sixth state to legalize same-sex marriage, Rhode Island state lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of a bill that permits civil unions between