A lot of you wonder why Ray and I still haven't gotten married even though we have been together almost 12 years. It is because Rhode Island has wise leadership like this. The article was published in today's issue of The Providence Journal. I know I am feeling the love.

Carcieri: Gay marriage not a ‘civil right’
01:00 AM EDT on Friday, October 16, 2009
By Philip Marcelo
Journal Staff Writer

NEWTON, Mass. — Rhode Island Governor Carcieri, speaking Thursday at a fund-raiser for an anti-homosexual Massachusetts organization, said marriage is “not a civil right” and that families have the best outcomes when led by a mother and father.

“It is a not civil right. I get aggravated when it is portrayed that way,” Carcieri said of marriage. “Marriage is a license by the state. It is about a state’s responsibility, which is the reason why states don’t allow a lot of types of marriages.”

A dozen gay rights activists from Rhode Island demonstrated outside the Newton Marriott Hotel for about two hours before Carcieri’s arrival.

The Republican Carcieri spoke for about 45 minutes before a crowd of about 350 supporters of the Massachusetts Family Institute, an advocacy organization that promotes marriage between a man and a woman and that considers homosexuality “destructive to individuals, families and society.”

Carcieri, who had been invited because of his strong opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage, focused his remarks largely on the issue of single-parent families and “the disintegration of the family.”

“It’s abundantly clear to me that we have a tremendous problem,” the governor said. Families are “the single most important public policy issue today and yet it is not talked about. We are failing our children.”

Thursday night’s event was the organization’s annual $50-a-head fundraiser. The protesters outside were from a variety of Rhode Island gay-rights advocacy groups including Queer Action Rhode Island, which in August called on the governor to cancel his appearance.

They said his decision to speak before the Massachusetts Family Institute, which had been confirmed more than a month ago, sends a “bad message” to Rhode Islanders as the state weighs the issue of same-sex marriage.

The institute’s Web site calls homosexuality an “unhealthy practice” that is “destructive to individuals, families and society.” It says it opposes efforts to “normalize homosexual behavior” and supports the “healing” of those “plagued by same-sex attraction.”

Said Susan Heroux, a member of Queer Action RI, “They go way beyond opposition to gay marriage. In their far-out views, they think [homosexuality] is a disease that we can be cured of. … It feels like they’re trying to eradicate us.”

Rhode Island remains the only New England state that does not allow civil unions between homosexuals.

Carcieri, state House Speaker William J. Murphy, and state Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed are opposed to legislation legalizing same-sex marriage. Carcieri has called for a ballot referendum on the issue.

Protesters on Thursday handed out fliers to banquet attendees as they entered the hotel, located in an upscale Boston suburb.

The fliers asked attendees to reconsider their support of the organization, saying, “By calling us ‘unhealthy’ and ‘destructive’ and stating that we do not have the right to live differently than you, MFI is helping to encourage a negative public treatment of our families.”

The fliers also acknowledged Carcieri’s agreement this week to meet with the gay-rights activists.

In the months leading up to the event, Queer Action RI called on the governor to meet with gay Rhode Islanders in order to foster “better communication” and to “discourage discrimination.”

Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe said before the event that the governor did accept that invitation and set a time in early November for the face-to-face. The group had met earlier with a member of the governor’s communications staff.

Heroux said that the meeting with Carcieri will be “very important” as it represents the governor’s first sit-down with a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender group.

“I don’t know what his interaction is with gay people, frankly,” said Heroux. “And we don’t expect to change his views. But we do hope that by talking to him about our daily lives, he can understand that this is not just ideology” but about what we go through every day, she said.

Heroux said of Carcieri’s remarks: “When you talk about what the perfect family is, then you’re being negative to all families. It’s too simple a way of looking at things.”

Carcieri said he was invited to speak by a family friend, Alan Ringuette, the institute’s director and a native Rhode Islander. He declined a speaking fee.