Marriage & Family

The Knights of Columbus and Rhode Island’s Proposed Same-Sex Marriage Law

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 18, 2013 |

Rhode Islanders United For Marriage, a same-sex marriage advocacy coalition, issued a press release yesterday which included a fact-check style response to a paid advertisement run in the Warwick Beacon by the National Organization for Marriage, a same-sex marriage opposition group. The press release claimed that the NOM ad contained “falsehoods and misleading statements”. The…

To Save Constitutional Liberty, Save Marriage

By Justin Katz | January 17, 2013 |

With advocates’ having finally managed to bring the issue of same-sex marriage to the Supreme Court, it is critical that those who believe in limited government understand one thing: If the Constitution does not allow the people of the United States to maintain the traditional definition of marriage, then it does not allow them to…

The Hollow Religious Protection in Rhode Island’s Proposed Same-Sex Marriage Law

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 8, 2013 |

The “protection of freedom of religion” in the same-sex marriage bill introduced into the Rhode Island House by Representative Arthur Handy (D – Cranston) is extremely narrow. As it currently stands, the text reads…15-3-6.1. Protection of freedom of religion in marriage (a) Consistent with the guarantees of freedom of religion set forth by both the…

Religious Protections in New England (and New York) Same-Sex Marriage Laws

By Carroll Andrew Morse | January 8, 2013 |

Rhode Island citizens, legislators and lobbyists are invited to use this compilation of various laws from neighboring states relating to marriage and freedom of religion protections as a resource for their upcoming deliberations on same-sex marriage. ConnecticutSection 46b 22b:Refusal to solemnize or participate in ceremony solemnizing a marriage on religious grounds. (a) No member of…

Things We Read Today (45), Wednesday

By Justin Katz | January 2, 2013 |

Feeling hopeful, RI?; “top priority” is shown, not stated; RI gets fatherless children first; surviving sans regulation; surviving sans net income; and surviving sans a documented framework for working together. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

Marriage Rules Beyond the Ken of Kids

By Justin Katz | October 6, 2012 |

This essay originally appeared in the Providence Journal on June 8, 2009. Given that periodical’s revamped Web site, the essay is no longer available online, so I’m reproducing it here. The preschooler’s question at the dinner table probably wasn’t as new to recent generations as a parent’s first reaction might suggest: Can a girl marry…

Things We Read Today (24), Thursday

By Justin Katz | October 4, 2012 |

West Warwick for all; the essence of education reform; declines in people births; declines in business births; the easy street to dependency. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

Gay Marriage: Winning by Losing, or Something

By Marc Comtois | September 26, 2012 |

Ian Donnis wonders, “Was Laura Pisaturo’s loss to Michael McCaffrey actually a win for same-sex marriage supporters?“ [A] closer reading of the election reveals a more nuanced outlook — one in which same-sex marriage could have a better shot of passing the Senate in 2013 than widely recognized. The outlook remains murky, to be sure,…

Things We Read Today (19), Tuesday

By Justin Katz | September 26, 2012 |

Believing the political worst of priests; spinning bad SAT results; the skill of being trainable; the strange market valuation in Unionland. Continue reading on the Ocean State Current…

RE: The Senate District 29 “Bellwether”

By Marc Comtois | September 12, 2012 |

Just a follow up on yesterday’s post regarding the Senate-29 Democratic primary race between incumbent Michael McCaffrey and challenger Lisa Pisaturo, which McCaffrey won by 6% in a low turnout election. A Pisaturo win would have undoubtedly been taken as a sign that the Rhode Island electorate was ready to embrace gay marriage. But what…