Next Tuesday, February 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on same-sex marriage bills that have been re-introduced in the 2009 legislative session. With just a few days notice, we need to send a message to the committee, urging them to spend their time on the pressing issues that Rhode Islanders are concerned about — not redefining marriage as though it were a plaything of the political elites.
Because the time is short, we need you to do 3 things today:
1) Come down to the Statehouse by 3:30pm next Tuesday (Feb. 3) to stand in support of marriage. You won’t be asked to speak at the hearing, but your presence will make a strong statement in support of marriage as we know it — the union of a husband and wife.
2) Click here to send an email message to each of the members on the Senate Judiciary Committee, with a copy also going to your own state senator. Tell them now is not the time to be messing with marriage.
3) Ask five friends to join you in sending a message to their legislators. The only way to stop same-sex marriage in Rhode Island is to build an army of grassroots supporters who are willing to stand for marriage on a moment’s notice!
Mary Victrix 
Everyone,
You know the unfortunate thing about the entire same-sex “marriage” debate is that we hetro’s are blissfully unaware that we have long ago redifined marriage ourselves. We are defending a fort that we trashed and trudged out of decades ago, using birth control, divorce and abortion to ravage the ramparts. It is the only reason we could be at a juncture in our experience where same-sex “marriage” could be mentioned aloud without being followed by a rimshot and a few guffaws. Given the prevalent, temporary and romance laden (and often childless) cultural view of the once venerable institution, most modern marriages could be placed “inside quotation marks”. Same-sex marriage is only conceptually possible in a land where the fluffy, ultimately feckless idea of romantic love swirls at the very center of matrimony… in a place once occupied by ideas like parenthood, sacrafice, heritage, tradition and other societal goods. We have seen the enemy and the enemy is us.
K – that was very well said and it should humble us all. We are truly as much at fault as anyone else … for our silence and cowardice, if nothing else.
What ever happened at that hearing on feb 3? Does anyone know?
Jen-
The bill was withdrawn the day before for reasons unknown, so the hearings were cancelled, of course. Speculation is, however, that the same-sex “marriage” crowd was informed that a groundswell of opposition emerged quickly in response to the announcement of the hearings. Numerous organizations committed people to the cause of being there to testify, or to at least support all rational pro-traditional family testimony. Additionally, one report I heard claimed approximately 900 e-mails to local legislators came in over a 3 day span heading into the weekend prior to the hearings. I believe this could well be the reasoning behind pulling the bill, as I have long believed that the pro-same sex “marriage” camp relies mightily on the general apathy of the electorate to advance its cause. This time around it does appear that the electorate registered a significant negative blip on the political radar. Perhaps there is hope for traditional values in our society afterall. They most certainly will be back, however, and likely at a more opportune time for them… a time of their choosing. We’d better stay frosty.
K
Update we received today is that the meeting has been given a new date:
Thursday, February 26th , 4:00PM in Room 313 RI State House.
Please send emails and please come if you can.