It was well known that such legislation had no chance of becoming law while Chafee's predecessor, conservative Republican Donald Carcieri, remained in office to veto it. But with the independent and socially progressive Chafee in the governor's office and Democrats holding overwhelming three-fourths majorities in both houses of the Legislature since 2011, I fail to understand why it has taken so long to even introduce a marriage equality bill.

Of course, depending on what the U.S. Supreme Court decides in its ruling expected next June on the federal Defense of Marriage Act and on California's Proposition 8, What happens in Providence could end up being a mere formality.