Marriage Equality Rhode Island

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Gov. Carcieri to Headline Anti-Gay Massachusetts Family Institute Annual Fundraising Banquet

posted by Tiffany Rauch-Dickson

on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at 8:27 am

(article originally posted on the Massachusetts Family Institute website)

“Massachusetts Family Institute is excited to announce that Rhode Island Governor Donald L. Carcieri will be our keynote speaker at our 18th Annual Fundraising Banquet to be held on Thursday, October 15 at 7 o’clock at the Newton Marriott. As governor, Carcieri has been an outspoken champion of life and traditional marriage.

Today, Rhode Island stands as the only New England state upholding marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Governor Carcieri has steadfastly threatened to veto any legislation seeking to change that definition and recently lent his support to the National Organization for Marriage. In 2007, the Rhode Island Supreme Court, with a majority of members appointed by Carcieri, refused to recognize same-sex “marriage,“ on the grounds that it is a question for the legislature, not the courts, to decide after public debate. Governor Carcieiri is also strongly pro-life, repeatedly speaking out against abortion.

Don Carcieri was elected Governor of Rhode Island in 2002, defeating the endorsed Republican candidate in the primary before earning victory over a Democrat with 15 years of political experience. Earlier, Carcieri had a career in business that was capped with his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Cookson American and Joint Managing Director of Cookson Group Worldwide, a manufacturing company with more than 12,000 employees. In 1981, he moved his family to Kingston, Jamaica, where he headed the Catholic Relief Service’s West Indies operation for two years.

Governor Carcieri and his wife, Suzanne, were married in 1965 and have four children and 14 grandchildren.

The Banquet will be a celebration to unite and encourage those who are involved in the pro-family movement. This program will also include the presentation of Citizenship Awards to those unsung heroes who have shown courage, commitment and compassion in the effort to support marriage, strengthen the family and affirm Judeo-Chrisian values in the Commonwealth.

We hope that you will join us on October 15th as we receive encouragement from a model governor who has stood up consistently for our values and stayed true to his convictions on marriage and life.“

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