Marriage Equality Rhode Island

Stephanie Halstead
of Woonsocket, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because who am I to tell someone else how to live their life? To decide the legal rights of a relationship based sexual preferences doesn't make sense. My older brother is gay and I know one day he wants to marry, have children and live out his idea of the "American" dream. And because he will have this dream with another man, he can’t? Our country has bigger issues to worry about then two men/women wanting to profess their love and spending their lives together.

Halle Rasco
of Woonsocket, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because I believe that all human beings deserve to have the same rights. Whether or not you support equality, all people should show respect to their fellow human beings.

Becky Brewster
of Barrington, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because my partner and I have been together for five years, we own a home together in Barrington and our lives are much the same as our heterosexual coupled neighbors. Yet we don't have the same rights as they do. We're tired of feeling like second class citizens. It's a matter of civil rights. The inequality created by denying gay couples marriage rights must end in our state and eventually on the federal level. RI is a great place to be gay. We've always been out to our friends, family, and neighbors. So why not marriage for us? It's shameful that we're not there yet.

Gina Furtado
of Bradford, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because love cannot be controlled by the government. If two people of the same sex wish to make a legally binding commitment to each other to be monogamous, they should be allowed to. The refusal to recognize a marriage in any form is unconstitutional. The U.S. Supreme Court decided in Loving v. Virginia that bans against interracial marriage violated the Constitution. The same can be said for bans against same-sex marriage. I hope that one day, my homosexual friends and family members will be allowed to marry their partners in Rhode Island and across the United States.

Susan Heroux
of Coventry, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because marriage plays a fundamental role in our society and leaving out gay and lesbian Rhode Islanders is discrimination. Stacey and I have been together for 6.5 years and were married on the beach in Provincetown, MA, on August 2, 2007. We have a 13-year-old daughter and have been fighting for marriage equality since she was 7. Our wedding day was one of the best days of our lives and our marriage makes our family more secure, especially because we have a child we will do anything to protect - just like all parents. All we are asking is to be included so we can express our full humanity within our society and protect our family. Our marriage does not affect anyone else but provides us with a huge sense of belonging and security that is priceless to our family.

Laura Pugliese
of cranston, Rhode Island

Lexie Ludovici
of Cumberland, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because separate is not equal. Same-sex couples deserve the same rights, freedoms and protections that opposite-sex couples enjoy.

Joseph M. Gasco & Kevin J. Mitchell
of Harrisville, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because when two people love each other and want to commit to each other in a loving relationship - no one - not government or society, should be allowed to stop them!!

Scott Davis
of Hopkinton, Rhode Island

I believe in Marriage Equality because, it's my civil right. I too am gay, and although I am single, my family and I, believe that I deserve to get married if I wish. There is no other reason needed. It's easy, straight forward, and as simple as it seems. Be one of the first to fix it, Rhode Island. We'll look silly, if we come in last.

michael duggan
of lincoln, Rhode Island

I am a white, middle-class, heterosexual male raised in a moderate-to-conservative leaning Irish/Italian Roman Catholic family in Pawtucket/North Providence. I am also an ally who believes that equal marriage rights is a civil and human right. Having lived in left-leaning areas of MA, VT, and NY, I have learned that many liberals in these areas view RI politics as stagnant and rigid; that RI voters are not as "liberal" as they portray themselves despite voting statistics: avoiding questionable issues until they become less controversial. They believe that RI will only pass a marriage equality-related bill after more states have done so, 10-15 years down the road. I think that Rhode Islanders are proud of their state, and have the capacity to refute such assumptions.I am an example of this misconception, and there are others like me. An organized, well thought out strategy, along with an emphasis on disproving the naysayers, is key to the success of this movement.