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Gay
Marriage Ruling Changes Nothing
R.I.
Attorney General Says
by
365Gay.com from the Web, October 3, 2006
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Providence, Rhode Island Oct.
2 -- Despite last week's court ruling that allows same-sex couples from Rhode
Island to marry in Massachusetts gay and lesbian couples who wed will not have
their marriages recognized at home Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch says.
On Friday a Boston judge ruled a Massachusetts law that forbids granting
marriage licenses to couples who live in areas where those marriages are illegal
does not prevent Rhode Island couples from marrying in the Bay State.
Judge Thomas Connolly's ruling said he based his decision on Rhode Island law
which does specifically say same-sex couples cannot marry.
Nor does it say they can Lynch said Monday. Lynch pointed to same-sex
couples who married in Canada and Europe whose weddings already are not
recognized in Rhode Island .
Lynch said that the state will recognize gay marriage only when the legislature
or the courts authorize it.
Nevertheless, gay and lesbian couples say that marrying in Massachusetts has
great symbolic importance for them. Friday's ruling also could open up a
court challenge seeking to have those marriages validated.
Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, the Boston-based group that won the
initial right for gay couples in Massachusetts to marry and which won Friday's
ruling involving Rhode Island couples told 365Gay.com Monday that it is not
working on any potential lawsuit at this time.
The issue of gay marriage came up earlier this year at the Rhode Island
legislature for the second year in a row.
In April the House Judiciary Committee held a six-hour hearing on the bill,
hearing from gay and lesbian couples and their supporters that the denial of
marriage rights is adversely affecting their lives.
Support has been growing in the legislature to legalize gay marriage, but the
bill did not make it out of committee.
William J. Murphy the Speaker of the House, Senate President Joseph A.
Montalbano -- both Democrats -- and Governor Carcieri, a Republican, oppose
same-sex marriage.
LGBT activists in the state hope to reintroduce the bill next year.
But opponents of gay marriage also are gearing up for a fight. They're
pushing for specific legislation or an amendment to the state constitution to
limit marriage to opposite-sex couples.
"This is a wake-up call that we need to be more vigilant in promoting and
protecting traditional marriage," said the Rev. Bernard A. Healey, a
spokesperson for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence.
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