Rhode Island has the smallest population of any U.S. state -- estimated by
the U.S. Census Bureau as 1,050,788 in 2008 -- a little more than that of the
city of San Jose, CA. 1,2
Just over 50% of its voters are Roman Catholic.
Because of opposition from the Church, marriage equality will probably take many years to accomplish there. In the
meantime, Rhode Island will serve as an example of how lack of religious diversity can
have a negative influence on the attainment of civil rights for minorities.
As of mid-2009-MAY, five of the six New England states have either made same-sex marriage (SSM)
available, or have a law in place to make it available later in 2009, or are
expected to have a law in place during 2009-JUN. The exception is Rhode Island.
In spite of a significant majority of voters being in favor of marriage
equality, SSM has little chance of being approved soon.
Bills to create same-sex marriages (SSM) in Rhode Island have been introduced
to the Senate Judiciary Committee every year from 1997 to now. None have
proceeded; none have even made it out of committee. However, the tide may be
turning. Most of the candidates for governor in 2010 support SSM. By the time
that the next governor is selected,
Rhode Islanders will probably have the opportunity to see how SSM has fared in the
all other
New England states.
The situation is every politicians' nightmare: a lose-lose situation. A
significant minority (31%) of the public is
opposed to SSM. No matter what a legislator does, she or he is
going to be severely condemned by a large number of voters.
Both the Roman Catholic Church and the current governor are strongly opposed to SSM.
Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Tobin said:
"It should not be for us a source of embarrassment that we are the only
[New England] state
that does not recognize gay marriage. It should be a source of pride."
3
Governor Carcieri said:
"I think we should be doing everything we can to protect traditional
marriage."
The term "traditional marriage" means the union of one woman and
one man. Most religious and social conservatives believe that SSM represents a
serious threat to opposite-sex marriage. 3
