As recently as this fall, the Brown College Democrats were ready to settle for civil union legislation in Rhode Island. Now, they say they are hopeful that gay marriage is in the state's future.
"We've come a long way," said Seth Magaziner '06, who has led the group's lobbying efforts on behalf of gay marriage.
Last fall, the College Democrats offered their services to Ocean State Marriage, a progressive lobbying firm based in Providence, in exchange for a seat at the firm's meetings. Students have advocated gay marriage alongside Ocean State Action throughout the year, and last week, went down to the State House to lobby specific legislators on the fence.
The members of the College Democrats' legislative subcommittee worked for Ocean State Action and other progressive activist groups but also offered opinions on the organization and logistics of political rallies, literature and press conferences, Magaziner said.
Through this relationship, the College Democrats learned professional lobbying tactics and earned local reputations, according to Magaziner. Members' work was so impressive that local politicians have asked them to work on upcoming campaigns, he said.
The College Democrats researched the positions of all 118 legislators in the Rhode Island General Assembly, Magaziner said. After they had a sense of where each politician stood on the subject of civil unions, they began to focus on the members who were on the fence.
After Massachusetts' Supreme Judicial Court ruled that the state had to allow gay marriages last fall, the political scene changed in Providence. Progressive lobbyists began pushing for gay marriages in Rhode Island, and the College Democrats wanted to help, Magaziner said.
At the end of March, the state Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on gay marriage. The year before, the gay marriage hearings were held in the smallest hearing room and only two of the legislators on the committee showed up to hear them. This year, however, observers, activists and politicians were overflowing from the largest hearing room.
Providence Mayor David Cicilline '83, who is openly gay, testified at a hearing in March. "Gay men and lesbians are your teachers, your doctors, your lawyers, your neighbors, your elected officials, with the same values, hopes and dreams as everyone else. We value commitment, loving and caring relationships and stability the same as members of the heterosexual community," he told the committee. "I urge you to take this important step to do the right thing. This is a moment that calls for real leadership," he said, according to the Providence Journal.
The General Assembly is also considering a bill that would define marriage as between a man and a woman, sponsored by Rep. Victor Moffitt (R-Coventry). A March 16 rally in support of that bill drew nearly 100 people.
Although neither marriage bill is likely to come to a vote in an election year, members of the College Democrats say they are hopeful they are contributing to the eventual passage of a gay marriage bill.
Magaziner pointed out that Rhode Island was the first state to abolish slavery and offer religious tolerance and said he hopes legislators will continue the state's progressive legacy.
