------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the April 15, 2004 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
RALLY IN STATE HOUSE FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY
By Mike Shaw Providence, R.I.
Several hundred supporters of same-sex marriage massed in the Rhode Island State House rotunda on March 31. Organized by the Rhode Island Campaign for Marriage Equality, it was the largest rally in the State House since the state's credit union crisis in the early 1990s. The rally numerically trounced a bigoted rally the previous week in the same spot.
There are currently two competing bills before the State Senate: one to legalize civil marriage for same-sex couples and one to limit marriage to heterosexuals.
Chris Butler, executive director of AIDS Project RI, chaired the rally. He stated, "This community is energized, organized and committed."
Senate Majority leader Gordon Fox, who is part Cape Verdean, surprised and delighted those at the rally when he stated, "I'm in a committed six- year relationship with a very special man."
Rodney Davis, an African American member of the Rhode Island Pride Committee, quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
State Rep. Anastasia Williams, who is African American, gave her support to the struggle, saying, "As a woman, I am discriminated against every day. As a person of color, I am discriminated against every day. I am behind you 99.99 percent."
Stonewall Rebellion vet Tom Fourelle, now a Rhode Island resident, brought his experience of participating in that historic uprising to the fight for equal rights today.
Frank and Tony, owners of a bowling alley in Johnston and partners for over 20 years, closed the rally. "The time has come to fight back. We want equality and we want it now!"
Supporters of the May 17 Coalition handed out many flyers calling for local actions at city halls across the country on that date, when same- sex marriages are slated to begin in Massachusetts.
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