Rally in State House for marriage equality
By Mike Shaw
Providence, R.I.
Several hundred supporters of same-sex
marriage massed in the Rhode Island State House rotunda on
March 31. Organized by the Rhode Island Campaign for Marriage
Equality, it was the largest rally in the State House since the
state's credit union crisis in the early 1990s. The rally
numerically trounced a bigoted rally the previous week in the
same spot.
There are currently two competing bills before the State
Senate: one to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples and
one to limit marriage to heterosexuals.
Chris Butler, executive director of AIDS Project RI, chaired
the rally. He stated, "This community is energized, organized
and committed."
Senate Majority leader Gordon Fox, who is part Cape Verdean,
surprised and delighted those at the rally when he stated, "I'm
in a committed six-year relationship with a very special
man."
Rodney Davis, an African American member of the Rhode Island
Pride Committee, quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Injustice
anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
State Rep. Anastasia Williams, who is African American, gave
her support to the struggle, saying, "As a woman, I am
discriminated against every day. As a person of color, I am
discriminated against every day. I am behind you 99.99
percent."
Stonewall Rebellion vet Tom Fourelle, now a Rhode Island
resident, brought his experience of participating in that
historic uprising to the fight for equal rights today.
Frank and Tony, owners of a bowling alley in Johnston and
partners for over 20 years, closed the rally. "The time has
come to fight back. We want equality and we want it now!"
Supporters of the May 17 Coalition handed out many flyers
calling for local actions at city halls across the country on
that date, when same-sex marriages are slated to begin in
Massachusetts.
Reprinted from the April 15, 2004, issue of
Workers World newspaper
This article is copyright under a Creative
Commons License.
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