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Rep. Gordon Fox, D-Providence, was Rhode Island House Majority Leader before being elected speaker today. By Steven Senne, AP |
Rhode Island lawmakers have elected
the state's first black and first openly gay House speaker.
Rep. Gordon Fox, a 48-year-old lawyer representing Providence, succeeds fellow
Democrat William Murphy, who announced in September he would not seek
re-election.
He said in an interview with The Providence Journal that he is "in a long-term
relationship, but not officially married. ... When I get married, I would like
to do it in my home state."
Rhode Island is the only New England state that has not made same-sex marriage
legal. Will he try to change that?
Fox said he was reluctant to make a hard-and-fast commitment to bring the issue
to the House floor for a vote after Murphy leaves, without "a lot of internal
discussions." But, "we should have equal marriage rights in Rhode Island.
... That would definitely be something on a personal level I would like to see."
Fox is biracial — his father is Irish, his mother Cape Verdean — but, like
President Obama, he considers himself black. He does so, the ProJo writes,
because he hopes his achievements will serve as a role model for black
youngsters, to send them a message: "If I can do it, you can do it also."
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