Rhode Island becomes 10th state to allow gay marriage after Gov. Chafee signs bill into law
By Associated Press, May 2, 2013
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rhode Island on Thursday became the nationfs 10th state to
allow gay and lesbian couples to wed, as a 16-year effort to extend marriage
rights in this heavily Roman Catholic state ended with the triumphant cheers of
hundreds of gays, lesbians, their families and friends.
Gov. Lincoln Chafee signed the bill into law on the Statehouse steps Thursday
evening following a final 56-15 vote in the House. The first weddings will take
place Aug. 1, when the law takes effect.
gIfve been waiting 32 years for this day, and I never thought it would come
in my lifetime,h said Raymond Beausejour, a 66-year-old gay North Providence man
who has been with his partner for 32 years. gFor the first time in my life, I
feel welcome in my own state.h
After Chafee signed the bill, the hundreds of people who gathered on the
Statehouse grounds erupted into cheers as a chorus sang gChapel of Love.h
gNow, at long last, you are free to marry the person that you love,h Chafee
told the crowd.
The day was bittersweet for Deborah Tevyaw, whose wife, state corrections
officer Pat Baker, succumbed to lung cancer two years ago. Months before she
died, Baker, relying on an oxygen tank, angrily told lawmakers it was unfair
that Tevyaw wasnft considered her wife in Rhode Island despite their marriage in
Massachusetts.
gIfm ecstatic, but sad shefs not here to see this,h Tevyaw said. gIfm sure
shefs watching, but shefs not here next to me. Before she died, she told me, eI
started this, and now Ifm leaving it in your hands.f We worked hard for this.
There were petitions, door knocking, phone calls. I think people decided, ejust
let people be happy.fh
Once consigned to the political fringe, gay marriage advocates succeeded this
year thanks to a sprawling lobbying effort that included support from organized
labor leaders, religious clergy, leaders including Chafee and Providence Mayor
Angel Taveras and hundreds of volunteers. Their efforts overcame the opposition
of the Catholic church and lawmakers including Senate President Teresa Paiva
Weed, who voted no but allowed the issue to come to a vote anyway.
Supporters framed the issue as one of civil rights, arguing in daylong
legislative hearings that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and
protections given to opposite-sex married couples. The Catholic church was the
most significant opponent, with Bishop Thomas Tobin urging lawmakers to defeat
what he called an gimmoral and unnecessaryh change to traditional marriage
law.
On Thursday, Tobin repeated his opposition, writing in a letter to the
statefs Catholics that ghomosexual acts are ... always sinful.h
gCatholics should examine their consciences very carefully before deciding
whether or not to endorse same-sex relationships or attend same-sex ceremonies,h
Tobin wrote. g... To do so might harm their relationship with god.h
The Rhode Island legislation states that religious institutions may set their
own rules regarding who is eligible to marry within the faith and specifies that
no religious leader is obligated to officiate at any marriage ceremony and no
religious group is required to provide facilities or services related to a gay
marriage.
While ministers already cannot be forced to marry anyone, the exemption
helped assuage concerns from some lawmakers that clergy could face lawsuits for
abiding by their religious convictions.
Under the new law, civil unions will no longer be available to same-sex
couples as of July 1, though the state would continue to recognize existing
civil unions. Lawmakers approved civil unions two years ago, though few couples
have sought them.
Delaware could be the next state to approve gay marriage. Legislation
legalizing same-sex marriage has narrowly passed the Delaware House and now
awaits a vote in the state Senate.
Advocates in Rhode Island say that while theyfre proud the state is the 10th
to legalize gay marriage, they expect other states to follow quickly as support
for same-sex marriage grows around the country. According to a November Gallup
poll, 53 percent of Americans support giving gay and lesbian couples the right
to marry, up from 27 percent in 1996.
Rep. Frank Ferri, D-Warwick, who lobbied for gay marriage before becoming a
lawmaker himself, recalled that years ago he asked a sitting lawmaker if he
would consider supporting same-sex marriage. gHe said, eIfll pour gasoline on my
head and light myself on fire before that bill passes,fh Ferri recalled.
That has changed, said Ferri, who is gay. Ferri said he hopes House Speaker
Gordon Fox — who is gay — can marry him and his partner on Aug. 1, the day the
new law takes effect, which also happens to be the couplefs 32nd
anniversary.
gToday a dream has come true,h he said. gNo more hiding in the shadows. No
more being ashamed of who we are.h
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