Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee has demanded the state legislative body to approve same-sex marriage despite calls for a voter referendum on the issue.
UPDATE 2/8/11: Study says R.I. could make money off gay marriage
-- From "Gay-marriage sides resume duel in Rhode Island" by Katherine Gregg, Providence Journal State House Bureau 1/12/11
Opponents launched a $100,000 TV ad campaign that belittles new Governor Chafee as a governor-without-mandate who got “fewer votes than the Cool Moose Party.”
Later the same day, proponents headed to the State House to deliver “over 13,000” postcards supporting same-sex marriage to lawmakers as they arrived for Tuesday’s House and Senate sessions.
And this is just the beginning of an annual battle that has intensified this year with the election of a new governor and an openly gay House speaker who, unlike their predecessors, support the years-long drive to legalize “civil marriage” in Rhode Island for same-gender couples, without forcing religious institutions to perform a ceremony that goes against their beliefs.
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From "Anti-gay marriage group runs TV ad in RI" by Michelle R. Smith, The Associated Press 1/13/11
Chafee, a former Republican U.S. senator who became an independent in 2007, has been a longtime supporter of gay marriage and used his inaugural address last week to urge lawmakers to swiftly consider and pass a bill legalizing it. He said during his inauguration address he hoped Rhode Island would "catch up to her New England neighbors" on the issue. Such unions are legal in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire, although Republican lawmakers there plan to introduce bills to repeal it.
Brown University political science professor Wendy Schiller said the group was trying to cut off what appears to be strong momentum for gay marriage with the ad.
The ad appears to be spurring some people to take action. Chafee spokesman Christian Vareika said that before Tuesday, when the ad started running, the governor's office had fielded about 50 calls a day on the issue, mostly from people who oppose gay marriage. Since Tuesday, that number has approximately doubled to 100 calls a day, from a mix of people who oppose it or want to put it to a popular vote.
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From "Gay Rights Advocates Desperate to Gain Ground" By Stephanie Samuel, Christian Post Reporter 1/10/11
During his January 4 inaugural speech, Chafee said legalizing same-sex marriage would be an economic boon for the state. Two days later, a gay marriage bill was introduced in the state legislature.
Bishop Thomas Tobin of the Catholic Diocese of Providence criticized the governor’s statements and asked that voters be allowed to decide the issue. Rhode Island’s openly gay House Speaker, Gordon Fox, is against a referendum.
. . . New Hampshire, New Mexico, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming are all working to repeal or ban same-sex marriage. Maryland Republican lawmakers are also introducing an inclusive civil union law as an alternative to same-sex marriage.
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