Apocalypse Tomorrow

Tomorrow's the day gay couples in Massachusetts can legally obtain marriage licenses. Some couples from the original Goodridge case that opened the door to issuing the licenses plan on getting married tomorrow, but most will have to wait at least three days. Same-sex marriage opponents will have to wait a lot longer before a vote on an amendment that could stop the marriages.

Both sides of the issue will be watching Massachusetts closely, both believing that the first-in-the-nation experiment in SSM will rally a mostly unfazed electorate to action. Advocates believe that seeing friends and neighbors and fellow Americans experiencing the familiar bliss of their wedding days will dull the fire and brimstone rhetoric of the religious right. Opponents think that a gay couple trying to get marriage rights outside of Massachusetts will finally wake up the moral majority (who, according to today's NY Times, are indeed asleep)

Just to the south, RI Attorney General Patrick Lynch will issue the opinion of the State as to whether Mass. Marriages will be recognized in Rhode Island. We have bills in the legislature now for both outlawing and legalizing same sex marriage here, though there hasn't been much movement on either so far. Meanwhile, watch the ProJo letter section this week, as today's paper featured a front page image of two men sharing a tender moment (you might remember the minor furor over the pic of two guys kissing a while back). The article is pretty good if you want to check it out.

Check back tomorrow for what AG Lynch says. Either way it should be an important decision for same-sex marriage in RI.