Ultimate fate of Rhode Island gay marriage bill uncertain

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
1/25/2013
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Measure 'strikes against the very foundation of our culture,

Rhode Island lawmakers have passed a bill to allow gay marriage. While many New England states currently recognize same sex unions, observers on both sides of the issue say the fate of the legislation remains uncertain. While the bill passed the House 51-19, it faces a much more difficult battle in the state Senate.

While many New England states currently recognize same sex unions, observers on both sides of the issue say the fate of the legislation remains uncertain. While the bill passed the House 51-19, it faces a much more difficult battle in the state Senate.

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The House vote in Rhode Island "undermines the common good of our state and strikes against the very foundation of our culture," a statement from the Rhode Island Catholic Conference read. "Unfortunately, this bill redefines marriage and fails to protect the religious liberties of many faith communities and individuals of conscience who believe that marriage is a union of one man and one woman."

The Rev. Bernard A. Healey, executive director of the conference said that legislative leaders should focus on initiatives to reduce the state's high unemployment, poverty and other economic challenges.

Another church group formed specifically to oppose gay marriage called the Faith Alliance to Preserve the Sanctity of Marriage as Established by God, say they have already focused its efforts on the Senate.

"We have hope that in the Senate, we can stop the bill," the Rev. Santos Escobar said, who was among the dozen or so protesters that lined the entryway to the House chamber prior to the vote.

The group held signs including one that read: "Same sex marriage is immoral and unnecessary."

One ardent supporter, Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee tweeted: "Certain votes can be characterized as 'historic.' RI House's overwhelming passage of marriage equality is one such vote."

"There is incredible momentum behind this movement," Ray Sullivan, the campaign manager for Rhode Islanders United for Marriage said. The group is a coalition of groups that had pushed for passage. There was "first a unanimous Judiciary Committee vote, and now two-thirds of members, Republicans and Democrats, stood in support of marriage equality."

The vote came after nearly two hours of discussion among state representatives. The measure now goes to the state Senate, which must hear its version of the bill by April 11, where discussions and decisions are expected to be more definitive.

"We're not taking anything for granted," Sullivan said. "Tonight we will celebrate and tomorrow we will double and triple our efforts."

Sullivan said his group will continue to emphasize the human side of the issue, bringing the testimony of same-sex couples who have been together for many years to legislators, an approach he believes was the key to persuading undecided members of the House.

Same sex couples have the legal right to marry in nine states in addition to Washington, D.C. They include Rhode Island's neighbors in the northeast - Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maryland, Vermont, Maine, New York and New Hampshire - as well as Iowa and Washington state.

� 2013, Distributed by NEWS CONSORTIUM.

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Pope Benedict XVI's Prayer Intentions for January 2013
General Intention: The Faith of Christians. That in this Year of Faith Christians may deepen their knowledge of the mystery of Christ and witness joyfully to the gift of faith in him.
Missionary Intention: Middle Eastern Christians. That the Christian communities of the Middle East, often discriminated against, may receive from the Holy Spirit the strength of fidelity and perseverance.

Keywords: Rhode Island, gay marriage, Rhode Island Catholic Conference, Faith Alliance to Preserve the Sanctity of Marriage as Established by God

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1 - 5 of 5 Comments

abey
3 months ago
God created He Him: male & female created He them- to be Fruitful & Multiply. Gay, Gay agendas & gay ordinations make a Mystery which mystery is totally Contrary to the Actual Mystery to know that for every truth there is a false, that which is seen, which mystery has/is evolving from the Biblical words of the manner "For they love not the truth, which reason God sent a strong delusion that they may believe the lie, so as to be condemned, thus is the mystery of the Gay wherein sexual relations are involved.
youkokun
3 months ago
Josephine, the problem with modern Western media is the romanticizing of marriage. Marriage's primary end is not and should never be romance or being together for the sake of being together. It is a contract wherein a man and woman vow to work together toward a stabilized family unit, within which both a father and mother are necessary. Sterile couples are a different discussion altogether, but basically just look at the couples in the Bible who had to wait until they were elderly: God obviously approved their marriages. If two women want to live in sin, it's their choice, but they must not be allowed to call it a marriage. Jesus never brought it into question because the truth was already done right by Jews: don't do it.
Christine Adams
3 months ago
Josephine...the photo means...NOTHING.
What if these women were in a heterosexual relationship for most of their lives and just met recently??
What if one abuses the other??
We must not be influenced by photos and words. We must look to the core of what is right, what makes sense...
Since the beginning of time Male + Female= Children (in the majority of aspects in nature).
Same sex relationships are NOT NATURAL
Do we HATE gay people?
NO!!!!!!!!! We love them just as we love ourselves.
Do we ignore and punish gay people?
NO!!!!!!!! We open the door and offer endless support and... alternatives.
Let us not water down our principles and ignore our gut instincts and be influenced by a "loving" photo or the "convincing" media.
Think about it...
Josephine Boone
3 months ago
The photo accompanying this article, the one of the two women who obviously have loved and cherished each other for many years, demonstrates why civil marriage rights will eventually be extended to all Americans.
Louis Barta
3 months ago
Rhode Island (where I live) is ravaged by high unemployment -- yet the RI General Assembly's topmost agenda item is the legalization of same-sex "marriage." Even though RI is heavily Catholic in population, its only state-wide newspaper, the Providence Journal, constantly hammers the Catholic Church and is staunchly pro-abortion and pro-sodomy.

Although tiny, the "Ocean State" abounds with beautiful beaches, wooded hills.and constantly changing weather. But it's politics are lopsidedly Democratic (liberal) -- which generates much misery of mind. Church attendance is likewise poor. All this makes you wonder what on earth people here in RI are thinking.

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