Posted on 04/01/2004 8:39:33 AM PST by chance33_98
House Majority Leader: 'I'm Gay'
Fox Comes Out As Committee Prepares To Hear Same-Sex Marriage Bills
POSTED: 2:34 pm EST March 31, 2004 UPDATED: 9:01 pm EST March 31, 2004
PROVIDENCE -- The debate over same-sex marriage is personal for House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, who on Wednesday announced publicly for the first time that he is gay.
The Providence Democrat spoke at a State House rally, then again at a House committee hearing on bills on both sides of the issue.
Fox said he's been in a committed relationship for six years and that he supports a bill that would allow same-sex marriages.
Fox, a lawyer, said he hadn't planned to make the public announcement, but felt the time was right.
"It's an important message to get out," Fox said. "We are in these (elected) positions to lead." Fox said he's not aware of any other openly gay state lawmakers, although there have been several in the past.
The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday was to hear four bills dealing with same-sex marriage and benefits for domestic partners.
Rep. Arthur Handy, D-Cranston, introduced the bill to allow same-sex marriages. Members of the clergy would not be forced to officiate at the wedding ceremonies.
Fox told the House panel gay people "are not monsters, they're not caricatures. We should be afforded equal protection under the law.
"These folks, myself included, are asking for love, dignity and respect.
"I feel I am a normal person," he said. "I hope I'll be the same person in your eyes," after the announcement.
Michael Pisaturo, an openly gay former legislator, embraced Fox after his announcement.
"He overcame his fear and came out today. He was clearly touched by the passion and commitment of the people here today," Pisaturo said.
Stephen Cote, a deacon who represented the Diocese of Providence at the hearing, said same-sex marriage "disputes a centuries-old belief and undermines the sacramental meaning of marriage."
"Marriage as a union of one man and one woman must be preserved," he said.
Paul Eno of Woonsocket, who spoke at Wednesday's hearing, said to expand the definition of civil marriage to include gay and lesbian couples is "just a left-wing struggle against reality."
They were two of the speakers supporting a bill sponsored by Rep. Victor Moffitt, R-Coventry, which would define marriage as between a man and woman. The bill would also ensure that any gay marriages approved in other states would be illegal in Rhode Island.
Currently, 38 states have laws that define marriage solely as a heterosexual institution.
Moffitt, a tax accountant, said his goal is to "clearly define what marriage is, so there is no interpretation in the courts."
He said he believes he has the support of the "silent majority" in the state in his quest "to simply protect the sanctity of marriage by defining its meaning as a relationship between one man and one woman."
Moffitt said he's received harassing phone calls and been threatened with a boycott of his business, which he said hasn't suffered.
"I feel the compassion and emotion of the gay and lesbian community; they want some of the marriage rights," he said. "But what happens is things like this can be easily abused."
Moffitt gave as an example someone who agrees to marriage just before death to allow a partner to claim federal benefits.
But Moffitt sees no problem with efforts to grant specific benefits to domestic partners, including allowing them to recover damages in cases involving wrongful death and to be eligible to collect a one-time death benefit.
The House committee was also scheduled to hear bills on both those issues.
At the rally before the hearing, Fox's announcement was greeted with loud applause. Many in the crowd held poster boards with photos of gay men and women eager to marry.
Chris Butler, executive director of AIDS Project Rhode Island, told the gathering "the people who represent us ... need to know one thing, Rhode Island will have gay civil marriage. Our day is coming," he said to loud applause.
Miniature wedding cakes were delivered to each member of the House and Senate committees that will debate the bills this year. Labels on the box read: Wedding Cake ... $500, Marriage License ... $24, Civil Rights ... Priceless.
A Senate hearing last week on gay marriage attracted more than 100 people and dozens of speakers supporting or opposing same-sex marriage.
Legislative hearings in Rhode Island and other states have been spurred by a November Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruling which allows gay couples to marry. Same-sex weddings will become legal in Massachusetts in mid-May.
This week, the Massachusetts Legislature approved a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would ban gay marriage, but legalize civil unions. Citizens would vote on the amendment in November 2006, at the earliest.
Bills supporting marriage rights for same-sex couples have often failed to get hearings in Rhode Island, a state with one of the highest number of Catholics per capita.
Fox said the odds aren't good this year's bill will pass the General Assembly, but eventually "the argument will prevail."
Well....I guess that settles it.
In a Village Voice poll in 2002, of gay New Yorkers who described themselves as being in a "committed relationship" 73% also said that one or both "partners" carried on sex with "numerous" other men. A very interesting definition gays have for "committed". If I were a divorce attorney I would be salivating at the prospect of gay "marriage".
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