PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island's governor on Monday declared that the state will recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, giving gay couples the same rights as heterosexual ones when it comes to health insurance and a slew of other benefits.

The order signed by Gov. Lincoln Chafee in a Statehouse ceremony directs state agencies to recognize marriages performed out of state as legal and treat same-sex married couples the same as heterosexual ones.

Some gay couples married outside Rhode Island – where civil unions are allowed, but gay marriage is illegal – have not been afforded certain rights because state law is not clear on the subject.

Read the full story at media partner Huffington Post's Gay Voices, HERE.