Janson Wu (right) with Marriage Equality Rhode IslandCommunications Director Devin Driscoll (left) and Campaign Director Ray Sullivan
Post by GLAD Staff Attorney Janson Wu
For a little state, Rhode Island made a big showing last
Tuesday. Hundreds of citizens gathered that evening at the state house for the House Judiciary Committee hearing on what is the 17th and
hopefully final marriage equality bill to be filed in the Ocean State.
With prayer circles in the house rotunda, and same-sex
couples holding signs of love in the hallway, supporters and opponents of
marriage equality mixed outside the hearing room in a rare and, honestly,
inspiring showing of civic participation, even as passions ran high.
One conversation I had, while waiting in the hallway to
greet our testifiers, was with an ex-gay minister. He told me his story of
finding God after a violent incident with a same-sex lover that almost killed
him. As I listened to him, feelings of sadness, admiration, disbelief, and
sympathy ran through me as I tried to make sense of it. I was struck that
someone with whom I shared so much in common could be in such a different place
in life, but heartened that, while we were at the State House for opposing
reasons, we were still able to come together to share our stories with one
another.
Meanwhile, inside the overheated and packed committee
room, testifiers rose one by one for the next 6 hours to give their two minutes
of testimony in support of or opposition to the legislation.
For the opponents, representatives from the Catholic
Church, the National Organization for Marriage, and the Ruth Institute made
false claims about threats to religious liberty, children in schools, and the
future of the human race.
For our side, GLAD, as part of our new coalition RhodeIslanders United for Marriage, helped organize panels of expert testifiers in
areas as diverse as labor, faith, education, and medicine and psychology -- all
ready to counter any argument that our opponents might make.
But as we have learned in the other 5 New England states
with marriage equality, what ultimately moves people are personal stories.
Stories like those of Lise Iwon, who lost her wife Peg after 32 years together, yet
still showed up that night to talk about why being able to marry in their home
state was so important to them both. David Olson, who despite getting a civil
union in Rhode Island with his partner Len, was still told by his employer that
the pension survivor benefits that his married straight coworkers could receive
was "not applicable" in his situation because there was "no
spouse." And Matthew Lannon, 12 years old, who simply wanted to know why
his two dads could not get married.
After so many years of trying to pass marriage equality
in Rhode Island, hopefully this will finally be the year that Rhode Island,
with GLAD and our coalition partners’ help, joins the rest of New England in
protecting and valuing all families. Many of the folk in the state house
Tuesday night will no doubt view that as the ultimate defeat. What I hope is
that, just like what brought that ex-gay minister and myself together that
evening, one day what we all share in common will ultimately bring us back to
the same place, together.
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