Posted on Oct 2, 2006 | by Staff

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (BP)--Rhode Island's attorney general said Sept. 29 that "gay marriages" in Massachusetts would not be recognized in Rhode Island, despite a ruling by a Massachusetts judge that liberalized the Bay State's marriage law.

In a decision Sept. 29, Massachusetts trial court Judge Thomas E. Connolly ruled that same-sex couples from Rhode Island could "marry" in Massachusetts. Couples from the other 48 states remain barred from acquiring marriage licenses.

Massachusetts Attorney General Tom Reilly, a Democrat, said the ruling would not be appealed, but Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the decision would not impact Rhode Island law.

"This ruling does not authorize same-sex marriages in Rhode Island, and it does not mean that Rhode Island will recognize a same-sex marriage performed in Massachusetts," Lynch, a Democrat, said in a statement. "As I have consistently explained, only the Rhode Island legislature or a Rhode Island court can decide if a same-sex marriage is valid in Rhode Island."

In a nine-page decision, Connolly noted that Rhode Island has no constitutional amendment, law or court ruling expressly banning "gay marriage."

"Upon consideration of the parties' oral arguments and submitted memoranda, this court determines that same-sex marriage is not prohibited in Rhode Island," Connolly wrote.

The ruling stems from a 2004 lawsuit by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) on behalf of same-sex couples from Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and Rhode Island seeking marriage licenses in Massachusetts. Massachusetts has used a 1913 law to prevent an out-of-state couple from "marrying" if the license would not be recognized in the couple's home state.

While the highest court in Massachusetts ruled against most of the couples in March, it allowed the lawsuits by the New York and Rhode Island couples to proceed in a lower court. In July, New York's highest court refused to legalize "gay marriage," leaving a Rhode Island lesbian couple as the only ones involved in the Massachusetts case.

Despite Lynch's statement, a lawsuit in Rhode Island now could be on the horizon, with a same-sex couple from Rhode Island getting "married" in Massachusetts and then returning to their home state and suing for recognition of the license. On its website, Marriage Equality Rhode Island, a homosexual group, urged its supporters to contact Rhode Island Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and tell him that "Rhode Islanders support this decision." Carcieri, a Republican, opposes "gay marriage."

At the very least, homosexual activists now will intensify their lobby in the Rhode Island legislature to pass a "gay marriage" bill. More than 100 "gay marriage supporters" gathered in Providence Sept. 29 to celebrate the decision.

"[W]hile this decision is a major victory today, our next victory will be when we can get married in our own backyard," said Tony Carpaco, a homosexual activist who is "married" to the co-chair of Marriage Equality Rhode Island. Carpaco was quoted on the website of Edge Boston, which specializes in homosexual news.
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For more information about the national debate over "gay marriage," visit http://www.bpnews.net/samesexmarriage