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Smooth sailing ahead for RI gay marriage bill
The first gay marriages in Rhode Island could take place Aug. 1, when the legislation would take effect. Civil unions would no longer be available to same-sex couples as of that date, though the state would continue to recognize existing civil unions. Lawmakers approved civil unions two years ago, though few couples have sought them.
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Boston Globe • Apr 29, 2013
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Anti-gay-marriage group argues case in Maine
A lawyer for the leading national advocacy group opposing same-sex marriage told Maine's highest court Thursday that the First Amendment shields it from having to reveal its donor list to state officials.
Forcing donor names to be disclosed in connection with the state's 2009 referendum that overturned the state's Legislature-enacted gay marriage law would have a chilling effect on donors, said ...
Boston Globe • Apr 12, 2013
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Gay marriage bill heading to vote in RI House
Legislation to allow gay marriage in Rhode Island is headed for a vote in the state House after being unanimously endorsed Tuesday by a legislative committee.
The full House is expected to debate and vote on same-sex marriage Thursday. Though gay marriage bills have been introduced for years, it will be the first time either chamber of the General Assembly will vote on the matter....
Boston Globe • Jan 24, 2013
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President Obama stuns with call for gay rights
After taking the oath of office on a Bible once owned by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., President Obama used his second inaugural address Monday to make an emphatic call for gay rights, elevating the movement to iconic civil rights battles for racial and gender equality.
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Boston Globe • Jan 22, 2013
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RI coalition to push for gay marriage
Rhode Islanders United for Marriage says it will begin its work Monday with remarks from several community leaders who support legislation to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry.
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Boston Globe • Jan 15, 2013
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RI treasurer urges lawmakers to pass gay marriage
Rhode Island Treasurer Gina Raimondo is urging lawmakers to support legislation to allow same-sex marriages in the Ocean State.
Raimondo announced her support for gay marriage on Thursday. Lawmakers in the House are expected to vote on gay marriage legislation within a few weeks....
Boston Globe • Jan 11, 2013
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RI gay marriage supporters win in election
House Speaker Gordon Fox, who is openly gay, plans to call a vote on gay marriage in the House after lawmakers return to the Statehouse in January. The Providence Democrat cited gains in the General Assembly and gay marriage victories around the nation as evidence that the public supports the effort to allow same-sex couples to wed.
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Boston Globe • Nov 7, 2012
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Maine votes to legalize same-sex marriage
With 65 percent of precincts reporting at 1:47 a.m., 54 percent had voted to approve the measure, 46 percent against it. Maine now joins six other states, as well as the District of Columbia, in allowing lesbians and gays to marry. News of the vote was met with jubilant cries at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland, where hundreds of supporters of the ballot initiative gathered to await the resu...
Boston Globe • Nov 7, 2012
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Maine Catholics speak out for gay marriage
Catholics for Marriage Equality says it's placing quarter-page ads in three Maine newspapers on Sunday urging residents to vote for a gay marriage referendum in the Nov. 6 election. More than 100 Catholics are attaching their names to the ad in support of allowing people of the same gender to marry, against the teachings of the church.
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Boston Globe • Oct 26, 2012
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Group gives $250K to Maine gay marriage opponents
The National Organization for Marriage is pumping money into the campaign that opposes Maine's November ballot question seeking to legalize same-sex marriage.
The Washington, D.C.-based group transferred $250,000 Thursday to the Protect Marriage Maine political action committee, which is spearheading the campaign against the ballot initiative, said campaign manager Frank Schubert....
Boston Globe • Sep 24, 2012
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Hundreds rally for gay marriage in Portland, Maine
After months of mostly one-on-one campaigning, gay marriage supporters are rolling out television advertising, bumper stickers and yard signs as they seek to make Maine the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through a statewide vote. Opponents also are stepping up their efforts.
Hundreds of gay marriage advocates gathered Monday at Portland City Hall to launch a ''Yes on One'' referendum p...
Boston Globe • Sep 12, 2012
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RI Senate president mum on gay marriage
House Speaker Gordon Fox said Wednesday that should he retain his position after this year's election he plans to schedule a vote early in next year's legislative session. Fox dropped gay marriage legislation last year after it became apparent it wouldn't pass the Senate.
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Boston Globe • Aug 30, 2012
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Only 68 civil union licenses obtained so far in RI
Just 68 same-sex couples obtained licenses for civil unions in the state in the first year the option was available to them.
Gay-marriage supporters said the number, announced by the American Civil Liberties Union on Monday, shows that gay and lesbian couples in Rhode Island are shunning civil unions and holding out for marriage....
Boston Globe • Aug 21, 2012
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Massachusetts: SJC sees marriage, Vt. unions as same
The state's highest court says a person who is in a civil union in Vermont must get that union dissolved before he or she can get married to someone else in Massachusetts.
The Supreme Judicial Court said it recognized the civil union in Vermont as "the equivalent of marriage in the Commonwealth." Because of that, the court said, the union must be dissolved first or the person would be committing ...
Boston Globe • Jul 30, 2012
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Wording revised for Maine gay marriage question
The coalition supporting a proposal to recognize same-sex marriage in Maine said Thursday it was pleased by Secretary of State Charlie Summers' decision to revise the wording of the question to be posed to voters on the Nov. 6 ballot, while opponents called the new wording fair.
Summers announced that the final language will ask: "Do you want to allow the State of Maine to issue marriage licenses...
Boston Globe • Jul 30, 2012
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Court: Heart of gay marriage law unconstitutional
The law was passed at a time when it appeared Hawaii would legalize gay marriage. Since then, many states have instituted their own bans on gay marriage, while eight states have approved it, led by Massachusetts in 2004.
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Boston Globe • May 31, 2012
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Britain's Conservatives push for same-sex marriage
Gay couples in Britain won the right to civil partnerships in 2004, which granted them nearly the same legal status as married heterosexual couples while avoiding the controversial use of the word "marriage.'' But Prime Minister David Cameron and his Conservative-led coalition have launched a historic drive to grant gay men and lesbians the option of also entering into civil marriages, touching of...
Boston Globe • Apr 4, 2012
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Gay marriage will be issue in NH's fall elections
Both sides expect money to flow into New Hampshire to support their candidates.
The National Organization for Marriage has pledged to spend $250,000 to help lawmakers running for re-election who support repealing the law. On the other side, the New Hampshire Republicans of Freedom and Equality PAC is raising money to back Republicans who vote to retain it.
NOM president Brian Brown said in a sta...
Boston Globe • Mar 24, 2012
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Anti-gay-marriage group loses Maine list appeal
An appeals court on Tuesday upheld the state's campaign disclosure law that requires a national anti-gay-marriage group to release its donor list, but the group plans to take the fight to shield the list to the U.S. Supreme Court....
Boston Globe • Feb 1, 2012
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NH bill would allow service refusal to gay couples
Florists, caterers and other wedding-related businesses could turn away engaged gay couples under legislation before the House that opponents likened to segregation and Nazi Germany's race laws.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the bill, which would allow providers of wedding-related goods or services to withhold those services if they believe doing business with gay couple...
Boston Globe • Jan 25, 2012
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NH gay advocate resigns, citing no funding
The executive director of the driving force behind New Hampshire's gay marriage law announced Wednesday she is resigning due to insufficient funding drawn partly through the group's national organization....
Boston Globe • Nov 2, 2011
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NH rep drops gay marriage amendment
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Boston Globe • Nov 2, 2011
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NH group supporting gay marriage outlines why
Standing Up for New Hampshire Families told reporters Thursday that Republican lawmakers should focus on helping businesses create jobs and not on repealing the gay marriage law that has been in effect almost two years.
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Boston Globe • Oct 27, 2011
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NH panel votes to recommend gay marriage repeal
The Judiciary Committee voted 11-6 Tuesday to recommend repealing the gay marriage law and establishing civil unions for any unmarried adults competent to enter into a contract.
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Boston Globe • Oct 25, 2011
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Court nixes rehearing in Maine PAC reporting case
A federal appeals court is denying a request for a new hearing in a public-disclosure case stemming from Maine's 2009 same-sex marriage campaign....
Boston Globe • Sep 8, 2011
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Kerry acknowledges gay marriage change
Seven years after a presidential campaign in which he threaded the needle by explaining his support for the gay rights revolution taking place in his home state while not supporting gay marriage himself, US Senator John Kerry, a Democrat from Massachusetts, has a declaration.
He now supports gay marriage....
Boston Globe • Jul 22, 2011
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Civil union bill languishes in RI legislature
Despite passing the House, the legislation remains in the Senate Judiciary Committee. No vote to forward it to the Senate floor is scheduled. Lawmakers hope to wrap up their session next week....
Boston Globe • Jun 23, 2011
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Cambridge to offset federal gay marriage tax for city employees
In a move that may be the first of its kind in the country, Cambridge will soon begin making payments to same-sex married public employees to defray the cost of what local officials have called a discriminatory federal tax.
Beginning in July, the city will begin paying quarterly stipends to city employees in a same-sex marriage who must pay federal taxes on the value of the health benefits their ...
Boston Globe • Jun 13, 2011
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Cambridge to offset federal gay marriage tax for city employees
In a move that may be the first of its kind in the country, Cambridge will soon begin making payments to same-sex married public employees to defray the cost of what local officials have called a discriminatory federal tax.
Beginning in July, the city will begin paying quarterly stipends to city employees in a same-sex marriage who must pay federal taxes on the value of the health benefits their ...
Boston Globe • Jun 11, 2011
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RI lawmakers take another look at civil unions
Almost everyone who spoke at the hearing opposes the civil union proposal but for very different reasons. Gay marriage supporters argued that civil unions would relegate gay couples to second-class status. Martha Holt, chairwoman of the board of Marriage Equality Rhode Island, said her group also opposes a loophole in the bill that would allow religious cemeteries, hospitals and schools to ignore ...
Boston Globe • Jun 3, 2011
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Committee sends civil union bill to RI House
The House Judiciary Committee voted 9-3 to advance the measure to a House vote now scheduled for Thursday.
The bill would allow gay couples to enter into civil unions granting all of the rights and benefits given to married couples under Rhode Island law, but stops short of sanctioning marriage. The proposal was introduced as a compromise after legislative leaders said gay marriage legislation la...
Boston Globe • May 18, 2011
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Same-sex marriage no longer such a divisive political issue
Public support for gay marriage is at a record 53 percent, according to an ABC News/Washington Post poll released this month, the first time the poll has measured support for gay marriage above 50 percent. In 2004, support was 32 percent.
Among the young, the question appears settled: 68 percent of voters ages 18 to 29 support same-sex marriage rights.
The findings reflect broad trends revealed ...
Boston Globe • Mar 28, 2011
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RI lawmaker to submit bill on marriage referendum
A bill seeking a constitutional amendment to define marriage as strictly between a man and a woman is being introduced at the Rhode Island Statehouse.
The bill from Rep. Jon Brien, being introduced Thursday, calls for a 2012 ballot question on whether same-sex marriages should be recognized as legal in Rhode Island....
Boston Globe • Feb 5, 2011
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TV ads begin in gay marriage battle in Maine
The first television advertisements in an anticipated referendum on Maine's gay marriage law begin airing Thursday across the state.
Carisa Cunningham from Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders says the advertisements are airing in multiple markets in Maine....
Boston Globe • Aug 20, 2009
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In R.I., some wary as tide of gay marriage rises at border
The slower pace in Rhode Island, where the state Senate voted last week to allow same-sex partners to make funeral arrangements, has frustrated some local activists, many of whom rallied outside the State House in Providence last weekend to call for immediate equality.
But others say that legalization by 2012, a goal advocates set last year for securing same-sex marriage in all New England states...
Boston Globe • Jun 16, 2009
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For gay couples, married matters
A significant majority of the 558 gay men and women surveyed said that since marrying, they feel more committed to their spouses, more accepted in their community, and more likely to be open about their sexual orientation at work.
The survey indicates that there is something universal about the legal protections and social advantages afforded by the institution of marriage, said the study's autho...
Boston Globe • May 24, 2009
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Equal marriage in NH hinges on compromise
Democratic legislative leaders hope to bring a compromise to a vote as early as June 3. If it passes, the bill and two already passed bills needed to implement equal marriage would be sent to Lynch for signature.
Rep. Jim Splaine, prime sponsor of the main equal marriage bill, said Thursday that advocates will use the next two weeks to educate lawmakers about the religious protections Lynch wants...
Boston Globe • May 21, 2009
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Study: Gay marriages pump $111 million into Mass
The report from the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law says a typical same-sex couple spent about $7,400 on their wedding, with one in ten couples spending over $20,000.
A second study by the same group found that young, highly educated people in same-sex relationships were 2.5 times more likely to move to Massachusetts after 2004 than before gay marriage became legal....
Boston Globe • May 18, 2009
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N.E.'s identity bolsters gay marriage tolerance
The six states share a set of demographics that makes them fertile ground for an expanding view of marriage. Besides their large number of Democrats, they have higher education levels, a characteristic linked to approval of same-sex marriage. Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire are also some of the whitest states in the country when polls show whites are less likely to oppose gay marriage....
Boston Globe • May 11, 2009
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Maine House OKs gay marriage bill
Representatives voted 89-57 Tuesday afternoon to give the bill final approval in favor of the bill after rejecting an amendment that called for a November referendum. The bill was sent back to the Senate, which is expected to take it up when it returns Wednesday.
The proposal would make Maine the fifth state to allow gay marriage. But it's unclear whether Gov. John Baldacci would sign the bill. B...
Boston Globe • May 5, 2009
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Groups say Maine gay marriage law good for kids
At a news conference Thursday, the groups said their research shows that children thrive in homes where the parents have loving and committed relationships. Dr. David Lilly of the Maine Psychological Association says the development, adjustment and well-being of children does not differ markedly whether their parents are gay or straight....
Boston Globe • Mar 27, 2009
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NH House approves gay marriage
The House has voted to make New Hampshire the third state allowing gays to marry two years after they granted them the right to enter into civil unions.
The House voted 186-179 to send the bill to the Senate....
Boston Globe • Mar 26, 2009
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Same-sex marriage bills gain in N.E.
Little more than five years after the Supreme Judicial Court legalized marriage for same-sex couples in Massachusetts, gay advocates say they're coming closer to their goal of extending gay marriage to all New England states by 2012....
Boston Globe • Mar 25, 2009
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NH civil union sponsor will push for gay marriage
Portsmouth Democrat Jim Splaine will face a fight, as those opposed to civil unions vow to try to pare the law down....
Boston Globe • Nov 29, 2008
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What do Prop. 8's Mormon supporters want?
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Boston Globe • Nov 28, 2008
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Gay-marriage debate roils, unites Mormons
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Boston Globe • Nov 24, 2008
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5 years later, views shift subtly on gay marriage
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Boston Globe • Nov 18, 2008
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