Rhode Island
While Rhode Island does not allow same-sex couples to marry within their state, the state does respect out-of-state marriages regardless of whether the couple could have married in Rhode Island (a divorce by a same-sex couple was not recognized, but the marriage recognition law was not necessarily changed as a result). To achieve full equality, Rhode Island has introduced a marriage equality bill in the last two legislative session. State advocacy groups and citizens across the state continue to work for ending the exclusion of same-sex couples and their families from marriage.
WHERE YOU CAN GO TO GET INVOLVED OR LEARN MORE:
Marriage Equality Rhode Island
MERI is a grassroots movement that seeks legal recognition of same-sex
couples through civil marriage in Rhode Island. MERI believes that a
civil society guarantees to all of its citizens certain civil rights;
civil marriage is one of these fundamental rights.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders: Rhode Island
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) is New England's leading
legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on
sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression.
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LEGISLATIVE STATUS IN RHODE ISLAND:
Your Community—Rhode Island
Human Rights Campaign (HRC)
HRC presents resources, news, and the current marriage and
relationship recognition laws in each state.
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PUBLICATIONS:
Marrying in Massachusetts: A Guide for Rhode Island Couples
On September 29, 2006, a Massachusetts trial court removed the discriminatory barrier to marriage in Massachusetts for same-sex couples living in Rhode Island. This decision means that same-sex couples who live in Rhode Island can marry in Massachusetts. GLAD offers the following information to help Rhode Island same-sex couples understand the decision and plan for what may lie ahead.
Geographic Trends Among Same-Sex Couples in the U.S. Census and the
American Community Survey
Williams Institute
November 2007
Gary Gates at the Williams Institute released groundbreaking research
on the geographic trends among same-sex couples. The report finds the
biggest increases in Southern and Mountain states and states barring
legal acceptance of same-sex couples had larger percentage increases
in same-sex couples from 2000 to 2006.
Rhode Island Census Snapshot
Using data from the U.S. Census Bureau, this report provides demographic and economic information about same-sex couples and same-sex couples raising children in Rhode Island.
Hundreds of Rhode Island Laws Relate to Marriage
Marriage Equality Rhode Island
There are at least 435 Rhode Island laws that reference marriage, and
delineate the rights and responsibilities that are bestowed upon
married couples.
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NEWS:
Gay couples having trouble obtaining divorces
Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions in certain states. Now, some are finding that breaking up is hard to do, too.
Impatient witness: Reflections on the long struggle for gay rights
M. Charles Bakst, a non-gay columnist, wrote with powerful support for marriage equality saying, “I identified with the gay rights movement because I am Jewish, and because, the way I was brought up, you treat people decently and if there’s something amiss in the world you try to fix it… I believe discrimination against gays is evil, and marriage equality is not rocket science. Society benefits from loving, stable relationships. A man and a woman should be able to wed; two men or two women, that’s fine too. And if it’s not for you, don’t do it. I don’t get hung up on ideological or theological details.”
Woman in historic divorce case did not seek the spotlight
The Providence Journal
October 21, 2007
Ormiston, 60, and Chambers, 71, were together for a decade. "I was
lucky to love and share a life with a very fine woman for all these
years. It's clear to both of us we'll no longer go forward together,
but I wish her well," Ormiston said. "Now it's up to the court to
allow us the same right every other citizen has to end this marriage."
Marriage equality good for business in New England
The Washington Post
September 16, 2007
Since the freedom to marry came to Massachusetts in 2004, attendance
at Boston's annual Gay Pride Day, a major attraction for visitors, has
more than doubled, according to the Massachusetts tourism bureau. Last
June, attendance exceeded 100,000, compared with 40,000 three years
ago. Although Vermont tourism officials don't tally visitors according
to sexual orientation, several innkeepers report a strong rise in
their gay clientele since civil unions were legalized in 2000.
BLOG: My family is too valuable for your kind
Kmareka
September 9, 2007
"I am in a heterosexual marriage of twenty-five years, and in all
those years 'gay marriage' was never to blame for any of our
arguments. I think I speak for a lot of married couples when I say
that there are issues closer to home we can fight about, if we are so
inclined. Marriage is precious, the right to marry is a right that I
value, and I would not deny equal rights to people who love someone of
their own sex. It's easy to take marriage for granted, unless you are
barred from it."
Officials: RI can grant gay couples divorce
The Providence Journal
August 2, 2007
Rhode Island's governor and attorney general agree that a state court
should be able to grant divorces to same-sex couples without deciding
whether same-sex couples' marriages should be legal in the state.
EDITORIAL: Ocean State takes a step forward on marriage
The Sun Chronicle
March 4, 2007
Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch's advisory opinion for the
state to recognize gay and lesbian couples' marriages performed in
Massachusetts and, further, to bring marriage equality there, is a
step in the right direction for the Ocean State.
RI steps toward recognizing gay and lesbian marriages
New York Times
February 22, 2007
Responding to a request for a legal opinion from the commissioner of
the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, Attorney
General Patrick C. Lynch said the state prohibited discrimination
based on sexual orientation and did not explicitly prohibit same-sex
marriage. "Rhode Island will recognize same-sex marriages lawfully
performed in Massachusetts as marriages in Rhode Island," the
seven-page opinion said.
Marriage supporters rally for their cause at RI State House
The Providence Journal
February 15, 2007
"I am the pastor of a church that recognizes that same-sex marriage is
God's will. And I personally believe that same-sex marriage is a part
of God's plan. To believe otherwise is unthinkable to us," Dyszlewski
said. "To believe otherwise is to imagine that in creating diversity
in nature God made a mistake. What's even worse is to imagine that in
creating humanity God made a mistake."
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Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders
March 2008
On September 29, 2006, a Massachusetts trial court removed the discriminatory barrier to marriage in Massachusetts for same-sex couples living in Rhode Island. This decision means that same-sex couples who live in Rhode Island can marry in Massachusetts. GLAD offers the following information to help Rhode Island same-sex couples understand the decision and plan for what may lie ahead.
Marriage Equality Rhode Island is a volunteer-driven grassroots movement focused on securing marriage rights for same-sex couples. This blog is an effort to offer insight, information, thoughts, and happenings pertaining to the Rhode Island marriage movement.
