MERI Blog
Updates, news, action alerts and events from Marriage Equality Rhode Island.
MERI, National Marriage Groups call on Chafee to Veto Civil Union Bill with Discriminatory Corvese
Marriage Equality Rhode Island joined with prominent national marriage equality advocates to call on Gov. Lincoln Chafee to veto civil union legislation if the State Senate passes it with the controversial and discriminatory Corvese amendment included. The measure is expected to be taken up by the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow afternoon.
“The bill put forth by the legislature would create onerous and discriminatory hurdles for same-sex couples that no other state has ever put in place. As a result, we ask you to veto the bill should it come to your desk in its present form,” MERI and nine other civil rights and pro-equality groups wrote in a letter sent today to Chafee. The list of the signers include: MERI, Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, The Human Rights Campaign, Freedom to Marry, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, National Center for Lesbian Rights, The Family Equality Council, as well as The American Civil Liberties Union.
On Monday, 14 legislators penned a similar letter to Chafee, House Speaker Gordon Fox and Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed demanding that the broad and discriminatory Corvese Amendment be removed from the bill.
The Corvese amendment was purported to be about providing additional exemptions and protections to faith organizations, but in reality, it would allow any religiously-affiliated organization, including hospitals, day care centers, schools or cemeteries to openly and intentionally discriminate against civil union spouses. This means that hospitals, like Our Lady of Fatima or St. Joseph’s, could refuse to allow a spouse to visit their dying partner or make medical decisions in an emergency situation.
“By allowing individuals and institutions a free-floating license to discriminate against a whole class of people, in defiance of a general law, this bill represents a huge step backward from both Rhode Island’s longstanding nondiscrimination commitments and the balance and language embraced in the law throughout the country. This amendment could allow individuals, who are legally required to recognize everyone else’s legal commitments, to opt out of doing so only for gay and lesbian people,” the letter said.
For weeks, pro-equality advocates have spoken out on the dangers of the Corvese amendment, with leaders saying that it would be the most broad and discriminatory language to be included in any marriage or civil union bill anywhere in the country.
“This bill cannot be allowed to pass in its current form. If the House and Senate lack the fortitude or political courage to remove this bigoted and hurtful language from the civil union legislation, then the Governor will have no reasonable choice other than to veto the bill,” MERI Board Chair Martha Holt said.
“The Corvese Amendment condones and codifies discrimination, it has the potential to harm thousands of Rhode Islanders in loving, committed relationships, and we are asking the governor do all in his power to prevent it from becoming law” Holt said.
“Rhode Island has always been a beacon of protecting the separation of church and state,” said Marc Solomon, national campaign director for Freedom to Marry. “Unfortunately, the pending Rhode Island legislation flies in the face of that proud history. It adds insult to injury by enshrining civil union, a separate-and-unequal status, in law while granting license to religious organizations and their employees to discriminate against same-sex couples. We know that Rhode Island can do better.”
“The Corvese amendment actually diminishes protections already available under Rhode Island law, and is seriously damaging to Rhode Island’s gay and lesbian families. If it becomes law, there is trouble ahead for Rhode Island’s same-sex couples,” said Karen Loewy, senior staff attorney for Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
Legislators oppose Corvese Amendment to Civil Union bill
A significant number of state representatives have formally called on legislative leaders and Governor Lincoln Chafee to work together to remove the “dangerous” and “discriminatory” Corvese amendment to civil union legislation that is awaiting approval in the Senate.
“With the addition of the Corvese amendment, the well-intended civil union bill has been irreparably undermined. This bill legalizes discrimination against the very status and protections it creates, and allows groups with even tenuous connections to religious denominations to ignore very specific laws as they relate to same sex couples,” 14 pro-equality legislators wrote in a letter hand-delivered today to House Speaker Gordon Fox, Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed and Governor Lincoln Chafee today.
The amendment was abruptly added to H6103 when the House took up the bill in May, and received little debate or discussion. It is the most wide-sweeping, broad and discriminatory language that has ever been added to a same sex marriage or civil union bill anywhere in the country. Anti-equality activists, like the National Organization for Marriage, have desperately tried to sneak such language into bills in other states, without success. House Speaker Gordon Fox sanctioned the amendment going forward, and even voted in favor of its passage.
The lawmakers raised several substantive objections to the Corvese language, including the potential for a civil union spouse to be denied the ability to participate in a partner’s medical care during an emergency.
“Specifically, H6103, as amended, would allow any religiously connected entity to ignore the legal import of a civil union for any purpose. It would sanction a civil union spouse being denied the ability to make medical decisions for his or her spouse in a religiously-affiliated hospital or healthcare facility, despite having the legal authority to do so. This could be particularly calamitous in an emergency situation,” the letter states. The pro-equality legislators said they don’t oppose including protections and exemptions for faith groups in the civil union bill, but the Corvese Amendment goes too far.
“We agree that religious institutions should be guarded from having to alter their principles, faith or dogma and we support certain exemptions for faith groups to accomplish that goal. But religiously-affiliated groups should not be shielded from having to follow the law,” they said in the letter.
“If the true intent of this bill is to grant rights to those who have been denied them for far too long, then we cannot give any organization, religious or otherwise, the autonomous authority to single-out and discriminate against a minority class of citizens.”
Marriage Equality Rhode Island Board Chair Martha Holt praised the lawmakers for “having the courage to speak out against such blatant and alarming discrimination.”
“We are grateful to these 14 lawmakers for actively working to correct this corrupted bill. This legislation would cause significant harm to thousands of gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders in loving, committed relationships, and it cannot be allowed to pass in its current form,” Holt said.
“This is not only a dramatic step backward for the gay and lesbian community, it’s an unwarranted slap in the face,” Holt said. She added that the civil rights group would actively be involved in the 2012 Primary and General Elections to “make sure constituents know if their legislators supported discrimination or equality.”
It bares the signatures of 14 members of the House of Representatives, including: Reps. Blazejewski. Valencia, Ajello, Bennett, Ferri, O’Grady, Cimini, Handy, Tanzi, Walsh, Slater, Williams, Diaz and Tomasso.
We’ve got to kill this amendment
The Smith Hill politicians aren’t listening.
They’ve ignored the will of a majority of Rhode Islanders who support marriage equality, and now they’re on the verge of passing a civil union bill that could have a devastating impact on thousands of gay and lesbian couples in loving, committed relationships.
It’s time to take action.
What may have started as a civil union bill with noble intentions, has been irreparably corrupted to include language that intentionally allows private and religiously affliated organizations to discriminate against same sex couples. But these aren’t just any organizations, they’re hospitals, schools and other institutions that receive public funding. Prior to the House adding the Corvese Amendment, MERI was neither for nor against civil unions. Our role has been to exclusively advocate for full marriage rights for all Rhode Islanders. But the Corvese Amendment goes too far. As a result, no matter what you think about civil unions, this bill is not for you.
Don’t let anyone tell you that this is about exempting or protecting faith based institutions. MERI has always supported common-sense religious exemption and protection language, because no government should ever tell any religion what rites or ceremonies it must convey or condone. But at the same time, no religious group should ever be granted the autonomous authority to operate outside the boundaries of the law. They certainly shouldn’t be given a license to discriminate, and that’s what this bill does.
Now, in the final days of the its session, the General Assembly is hoping that you’ve stopped paying attention. Let’s prove them wrong.
I need you to call your state senator this weekend. Make sure they know that you will hold them accountable in the 2012 elections if they support a civil union bill that includes the discriminatory Corvese Amendment. Tell them you want the Corvese Amendment removed from the civil union bill.And it’s time to make sure Governor Chafee hears from us as well. Soon, he’ll have a major role to play in determining whether this legislation becomes law. He needs to hear from you, right now. Make sure his office knows that you don’t support any bill that contains the dangerous Corvese Amendment.
It’s up to all of us to keep fighting. Don’t let the Smith Hill politicians get away with passing a bad bill that will set us back more than it will move us forward.
In Solidarity,
Ray Sullivan
Campaign Director
Marriage Equality Rhode Island
Tell your Representative to vote yes on the Handy amendment
We’re not done yet.
Thanks to the more than 400 supporters who rallied at the State House last week, legislative leaders know we’re not going away quickly or quietly. They know that we’re in this fight for the long haul, and they know we won’t accept anything less than full marriage equality.
Last Tuesday we announced that Rep. Art Handy will introduce an amendment to the civil unions legislation that would grant full marriage rights, recognition and protections to same-sex couples.
I need you to contact your legislator now and ask them to support Rep. Handy’s amendment to the civil union bill. Because separate is never equal, and gay and lesbian couples deserve the respect and protections that only marriage can provide.
There’s a lot you can do to impact this legislative session and move marriage equality forward, but it starts by contacting your representative and encouraging them to vote yes on the Handy amendment.
The civil union bill is being heard this Wednesday in the House Judiciary Committee in Room 313 at the rise (probably around 5:00). Come, raise your voice, make sure our lawmakers know that marriage matters to you and thousands of other pro-equality Rhode Islanders.
I know we’re all still angry about the way this deal was cut, behind closed-doors and without any input from the pro-equality community. But right now, it’s not enough to be angry. I need you to take action and call your state representative.
In solidarity,
Ray Sullivan
Campaign Director, MERI
URGENT: Rally at the Statehouse
We aren’t backing down.
Like many of you last week, I was outraged when I found out that some of our leaders in the House decided to no longer support marriage equality and instead introduce a civil unions bill.
It was frustrating news, but we didn’t let our anger get the best of us—we took action!
Last week, MERI supporters sent over 1,000 messages to their legislators in support of the marriage bill, and over the weekend, volunteers across the state joined us at phone banks and canvasses.
And now, we’re taking it to the Statehouse. At 4:30 pm, MERI supporters will be at the Statehouse to show our legislators that we won’t settle for anything less than full marriage equality. Will you be there?
Click here if you’ll stand up for marriage equality with us at the statehouse tomorrow.
Our opponents want us to feel defeated. They want us to give up.
But now, we have the chance to prove that we won’t back down and that we won’t stop fighting until we end marriage discrimination in Rhode Island.
http://bit.ly/RallyforMarriageRI
There’s no doubt that we have a tough fight ahead of us. But with supporters like you, I know that we have what it takes to ensure that all Rhode Island families are valued and protected.
See you at the Statehouse,
Ray Sullivan
Campaign Director, MERI
MERI States Strong Opposition to Civil Unions; Expresses Disappointment in Speaker Fox
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: April 27, 2011
Contact: Bill Fischer, True North Communications
LLC Office: 401-228-8016
Cell: 401-862-4652
MERI States Strong Opposition to Civil Unions
Expresses Disappointment in Speaker Fox
Providence, RI – The Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) board of directors issued a statement expressing staunch opposition to civil unions now being supported by Speaker Gordon Fox and restated their support for full marriage equality for same-sex couples in Rhode Island.
“Civil unions are unacceptable because they marginalize gay and lesbian couples in very significant ways. The General Assembly will essentially be legalizing a two-class system that subjects thousands of Rhode Island same-sex couples to discrimination. We cannot support legislation that establishes a second class of citizens in Rhode Island,” said Martha Holt, chair of MERI’s board of directors.
There are 1,138 federal laws and programs in which marriage is a factor. People in civil unions will not be eligible for these benefits or protections even if the federal Defense of Marriage Act ceases to exist.
The word marriage is itself a protection. People with civil unions need to explain themselves to emergency room personnel, relatives, school officials, and bureaucracies. People who are married do not.
“Civil unions are a compromise for no one. Advocates both for and against marriage equality have clearly expressed their opposition to the half measure of civil unions,” said Holt. “We are extremely disappointed in the lack of leadership at the State House and we would urge Speaker Fox to rethink sponsoring legislation that would create a second class of citizens.”
“Marriage Equality Rhode Island is fully entrenched and will remain in this fight until all of Rhode Island’s couples are treated equally under the law. Half measures and second-class rights will not appease us,” added Holt.
Marriage Equality Rhode Island volunteers are actively engaged throughout Rhode Island and have been for months. Volunteers are mobilized in every legislative district in Rhode Island, including those of House Speaker Fox and Senate President Paiva-Weed.
Marriage Equality Can’t Wait
In a matter of weeks, the future of marriage in Rhode Island will be decided. Your state legislators have just returned to Providence after a recess and on their list of unfinished business is ending marriage discrimination.
Over the past several months, marriage equality supporters like you have fought hard to show legislators that now is the time to protect Rhode Island families by extending marriage to all loving and committed couples.
And now, it all comes down to these final weeks of the legislative session.
Today, hundreds of pro-equality Rhode Islanders are joining nearly a dozen local and statewide organizations in contacting their legislators as a part of the Online Lobby Day for Marriage Equality. Will you join them? Click here: http://bit.ly/MarriageEqualityRI
Click here to send a message to your legislators and be a part of today’s Online Lobby Day.
Marriage equality supporters like you have fought hard to get us to this point. Now is not the time to let up.
With only a few weeks left, time is of the essence. Will you be a part of today’s statewide day of action and contact your legislators now?
http://bit.ly/MarriageEqualityRI
By adding your voice today, you’ll send an unwavering message to your elected officials that ending discrimination against Rhode Island families is simply too important to wait another day.
Thanks for all you do,
Ray Sullivan
Campaign Director, MERI
Politifact reporter misses the forest for the trees
Below is a letter to the editor which was submitted to the Providence Journal today by Marriage Equality Rhode Island board Chair Martha Holt in response to last week’s PolitiFact story
“Gene Emery’s Politifact analysis is the quintessential example of missing the forest for the trees. It is simply a fact that Rhode Island and federal law use terms that connote or affect marriage over 1,700 times. To focus so narrowly on whether each of those statutes provides some sort of tangible benefit completely misunderstands the right at issue in the denial of marriage to same-sex couples: the right to equal treatment at the hands of our government. The fight for marriage equality has never been just about improving the financial position of gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders. It is about the harm we experience every time a law says, “but not the gay families,” whether that law allows us to access Social Security or Family and Medical Leave protections, holds us accountable for the same tax liability or conflict of interest rules applicable to every other married couple, or accords us the simple dignity of being recognized as a family when we cross the borders in and out of our country.
We fully accept that the right to equal treatment will include some disadvantages for our families, and we know that some of these protections are obscure. The key here is that all of these rights, protections, obligations, and responsibilities are part of what it means to be married in the eyes of the government, and it is the exclusion of same-sex couples from them all that we are seeking to end.“
Martha Holt, chair
Marriage Equality Rhode Island Education Fund
Prove NOM wrong
Our opponents, the anti-gay National Organization for Marriage, think that they’ve won.
In an email to their members last week, the New Jersey-based NOM all but claimed victory in Rhode Island, saying that “another tremendous victory is within our grasp.”
But while NOM is making unfounded claims about the state of marriage equality in Rhode Island, MERI supporters have been busy mobilizing hundreds of supporters throughout the state to contact their legislators in support of the marriage bill.
And it’s working! I’ve heard from our friends in the Assembly that many of our undecided legislators are feeling the pressure from the outpouring of MERI supporters who have taken action and demanded that all Rhode Island families are valued and respected.
You’ve created a buzz in Providence. Will you help us continue the momentum and contact your legislators now? Even if you’ve emailed them before, they need to hear from you again:
With supporters like you, I know we won’t let NOM get away with yet another harmful lie. The momentum to win the freedom to marry is truly on our side—in Rhode Island and elsewhere. Just last week, NOM’s top strategist came out in support of marriage equality because he realized that “gays and lesbians were just real people who wanted to live real lives and be treated equally.”
Hearts and minds – even some of the most adamantly opposed - are changing every day because fair-minded people like you aren’t afraid to speak out for what’s right.
Time and time again, we’ve proven our opponents wrong. And if you take action now, we’ll demonstrate once again that Rhode Islanders believe that it’s time to extend marriage to all loving and committed couples in our state.
Click here to contact your legislators now and ask them to support marriage equality.
Yours in equality,
Ray Sullivan
Campaign Director, MERI
Keep up the heat.
I’m going to cut to the chase because we don’t have much time.
The future of thousands of loving and committed couples is at stake right now. In a matter of days, our state Representatives could vote on the marriage equality bill—legislation that will ensure crucial protections and recognition for families in Rhode Island. And because of the hard work of MERI supporters like you across the state, we can win marriage equality in this legislative session. Our momentum is growing every day as more and more Rhode Islanders agree that it’s time for all families in our state to be valued and respected. But we can’t let up now.
Will you help keep up the pressure on your Representative? Click here to contact your Representative now and urge them to support marriage equality.
Since joining the Marriage Equality Rhode Island team as Campaign Director, I’ve seen firsthand that our grassroots supporters are our greatest strength. You’ve made phone calls, sent e-mails, and shared your stories – bringing us closer than ever to ending discrimination against gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders and their families. But to achieve the major legislative victory we’ve all worked so hard to ensure, your Representative needs to hear from you now. Will you make your voice heard at the statehouse? Click here to join hundreds of Marriage Equality Rhode Island supporters and urge your state Representative to do the right thing.
We’ve never been this close. And I know that together, we’ll ensure that all families in our state receive the respect and recognition they deserve.
Yours in equality,
Ray Sullivan
Campaign Director, Marriage Equality Rhode Island
PS- We launched a new Facebook last week, and already, over 1,500 marriage equality supporters have “liked” us! If you haven’t already, click here to “like” us on Facebook and share with your friends!
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MERI lauds Gov. Chafee’s historic move to recognize RI’s same-sex marriages
posted 2 days, 17 hours, 10 minutes ago
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Eugene Dyszlewski of Cranston supports marriage equality. Meet Eugene and other real Rhode Islanders in our Friends & Neighbors gallery.
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