Source: Providence Journal, Boston Globe
A news analysis by the Boston Globe’s Jenna Russell attempts to pin down the reasons for the region-wide acceptance of marriage equality in New England. Five of the region’s states – all of them with the notable exception of Rhode Island – either recognize marriage equality now or have passed laws to do so in the near future.
In a separate analysis of the situation in Rhode Island, Providence Journal reporter Cynthia Needham points out the unique political factors in that tiny state that make it the sole New England holdout – what Towleroad calls “an island of marriage inequality” – in the area.
Even though 31 of 73 Rhode Island house members co-signed this year’s marriage equality bill in the state legislature, most of the state’s top political leaders, including Gov. Donald Carcieri, are firmly opposed to the measure. Only House Majority Leader Gordon D. Fox, an openly gay man, supports marriage equality, Needham reports.
But even Fox acknowledges that – despite 12 years of effort and the swell of support from lawmakers – the legislation to recognize marriage equality in Rhode Island will not pass without backing from other key state leaders, according to the Journal.
Although a bill to recognize marriage equality has been introduced in each session of the legislature for a dozen years, the bills have never made it out of committee, the Journal reports.
For the Globe article, Russell talks to several political scientists who offer various reasons for the wide acceptance of marriage equality elsewhere in New England. Despite differences among the states, Russell points out that they’re all small states with overlapping media markets where families and friendships easily span state lines.
Rhode Island holdout highlights the unique New England character accepting equality [contd.]
Residents there have been able to see from experience that marriage equality hasn’t been socially disruptive. Over a decade ago, Vermont adopted the nation’s first civil unions law granting some rights to gay and lesbian couples. Five years ago, Massachusetts became the first state to recognize full marriage equality when the state’s highest court ruled in November 2003 that it was unconstitutional to prevent same-sex couples from marrying in the state. Marriage licenses were granted to gay and lesbian couples there starting May 17, 2004.
Russell credits a Boston-based legal advocacy group, Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) with laying the legal groundwork for equality in the region:
The presence of GLAD, based in Boston, might be the single biggest factor in the advancement of same-sex marriage through New England. The legal advocacy group has pushed for years in the region to end discrimination against gays and lesbians. Its lawyers fought the court cases that led to gay marriage in Connecticut and Massachusetts; its staffers spent years organizing public forums in Maine to build a foundation of support for marriage there.
The Globe analysis points out that there are similarities among the states in the region. The states are heavily Democratic in voter registration and tend to have have higher education levels, a characteristic linked to approval of same-sex marriage. Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire are also some of the whitest states in the country when polls show whites are less likely to oppose gay marriage, Russell reports for the Globe.
One point on which Rhode Island remains distinct from its neighbors is in the influence of religious leaders. The state’s powerful Catholic bishops have been dogged in their opposition to marriage equality.
“It should not be for us a source of embarrassment that we are the only state that does not recognize gay marriage. It should be a source of pride,” Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said this week, according to the Journal.
Although Catholics dominate the whole region's religious landscape, Rhode Island is the most heavily Catholic state in the nation, according to the Journal. “The Catholic Church is a force in this state and they have obviously voiced their opposition and have actively, actively worked against the issue here,” Fox told Providence Journal. “That has an impact.”
Catholic bishops have also led the opposition to equality elsewhere in the region, but political scientists told the Globe’s Russell that the opposition has had less traction outside of Rhode Island.
A professor of religion in public life at Trinity College in Hartford, Mark Silk, told Russell that the distinctive religious view in the region tends to regard faith as private and personal, and places high value on a separation of beliefs from politics.
Catholics are especially careful, Silk said, because of their own history as a persecuted minority. In spite of the opposition of their church leaders, 43 percent support gay marriage, Silk told the Globe.
"It's built into Catholic consciousness that they were once disfavored and not given equal rights," he said. "Now that they're the majority, they're not going to impose their views on others."
Even in Rhode Island, many see change on the somewhat distant horizon. When GLAD announced its campaign for region-wide acceptance of marriage equality, it set the target date for full acceptance at 2012, partly to accommodate the political calendar in Rhode Island.
The 2010 election could change the political tide even in Rhode Island, the Journal reports. Among the likely candidates vying to succeed Gov. Carcieri, whose term is limited, nearly all support the issue to some degree – a hint that the next administration may be more likely to embrace it.
It’s also possible that the current speaker of the house – a staunch opponent of marriage equality will not run again for office in 2010. Fox is widely considered to be the top contender to succeed him, the Journal reports.
Fox told the Journal that he’s been frustrated by the lack of legislative progress in Rhode Island, but defended his own work as majority leader.
“It’s a frustrating issue for me personally because of who I am and what I represent,” Fox said. “It’s hard not to take it personally sometimes … but part of my job as majority leader is getting consensus. You ask why I don’t push this? That’s one of the reasons. I represent the majority and sometimes my own personal opinions have to take a back seat.”
With Rhode Island the sole regional holdout, however, local and regional advocates are working to lay the groundwork for change, even if the real promise does not come until the next governor, said GLAD lawyer Karen Loewy according to the Journal.
Boston University School of Law Prof. Linda C. McClain, told the Journal’s Needham, that the sharper focus on the state could have impact in either direction.
McClain, who has written about same-sex marriage, said “Obviously, we’re seeing a sense of momentum developing and, depending on your political view, that’s either a very good thing or a very bad thing.”
Kathy J. Kushnir, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, is optimistic change will come before 2012. She points out that Rhode Island is one of the few states that have not passed a Defense of Marriage Act and it has passed laws that extend limited rights to domestic partners.
Kushnir’s hope is that successes in surrounding states will prompt supporters to shift their efforts, and their resources, to Rhode Island.
“Sitting back is not an option, because people’s lives are affected,” she said.
Source: N.E.'s identity bolsters gay marriage tolerance | Boston Globe
Why Rhode Island stands alone in New England on same-sex marriage | Providence Journal