Just 46 couples received civil union licenses in the six months after Rhode Island enacted a law allowing them.
The state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union compiled the number, which it calls “embarrassingly small.’’ The group says gays and lesbians shunned the statute in part because of a broad exemption in it that allows religious organizations to refuse to recognize the relationships.
The civil unions law was approved last year after the General Assembly dropped an effort to pass gay marriage. The law allows gay couples to enter into unions that provide the same legal rights and benefits given to married couples.
