Florida Agenda

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND — LGBT rights advocates say that marriage equality is likely to be on the agenda when Ocean State lawmakers convene for the legislative session in January. House Speaker Gordon Fox (D-Providence), who is openly-gay, has promised that if he remains leader of the House, he will call for a vote on gay marriage.

Fox says he’ll ‘‘work his backside off ’’ to promote the issue. He faces opposition in the State Senate, including from that chamber’s President, Teresa Paiva Weed.

Last year, Rhode Island’s General Assembly approved civil unions for same-sex couples. “We are in a New England state, and you can easily go across the state line to get married,” said Fox. ‘‘I want to have my marriage in the state of Rhode Island.’’

By Alex Vaughn

A Rhode Island woman who pleaded with state lawmakers to legalize gay marriage before she succumbed to cancer has died.

Marriage Equality Rhode Island says Johnston resident Patricia Baker died Sunday at Kent Hospital. She was 55.

Baker was struggling with the final stages of lung cancer when she testified on behalf of gay marriage legislation this year at the Statehouse. Occasionally using her oxygen tank to breathe, the retired corrections officer told lawmakers she was angry that her wife would receive no benefits from the government after her death.

Baker and Deborah Tevyaw (TEV’-yah) married in Massachusetts, but wanted their relationship recognized in their home state.

Baker’s testimony made her a spokeswoman for gay marriage advocates in the Ocean State.

As the gay-rights debate intensified nationwide, Pat Baker emerged as a face of the strife on the local front.

Battling terminal lung cancer, Baker spent sleepless nights urging lawmakers to repeal a law that forbids the federal government to recognize same-sex marriages.

Twice, the longtime corrections officer at the Adult Correctional Institutions dragged herself, oxygen tank in tow, to the State House in March to testify for equal rights for gays and lesbians.

“I worked for those benefits,” Baker said then. “ And when I say worked, I worked hard.

You name it, it’s happened. I’ve found inmates hanging; I’ve found inmates dead from suicide. I’ve been traumatized mentally and physically, only to get to this point in my life when I’m terminally ill … and I find out my wife is being begrudged $1,861 a month.”

“This kind of bigotry has to be rectified,” Baker said in an interview at her home, vowing to fight until her last breath.

Baker, is survived by her wife of six years, Deborah Tevyaw, whom she married in Massachusetts; two brothers, Richard Baker and Frederick Divers; a sister, Deborah Baker; and her beloved dog, Hooch.

“She had the biggest heart in the world,” Tevyaw, who met Baker about nine years ago through mutual friends, said Monday. The two married in Provincetown on Aug. 4, 2005, and had planned to renew their vows there this month, but called off the plans as Baker was hospitalized.

“I’m so devastated and so heartbroken,” Tevyaw said, her voice breaking. “I lost my best friend, my partner, my confidant and my wife, and she died without her wish.”

Tevyaw vowed to “fight for the dream that Pat worked so hard” for — her promise to her wife.

“I know it’s a long, hard road, but I don’t think anybody should tell anybody [else] who they should love,” Tevyaw said. “I don’t know what’s ahead of me, but I’m willing to fight it.”

Marriage Equality Rhode Island, a group that works for same-sex marriage, issued a statement mourning Baker’s death.

“Rhode Island has lost a great champion for civil rights, and we have all lost a dear friend,” said Martha Holt, Marriage Equality Rhode Island Board chairwoman. “Pat Baker personified courage and demonstrated remarkable strength in her lifetime. Her gentle, determined voice became synonymous with the equality movement, and she demonstrated to all that love truly does make a family.”

PROVIDENCE, RI – Openly gay Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox admitted that a proposed bill to allow same-sex marriage in the state is dead for this legislative session. Fox, a Democrat from Providence who was a leading supporter of the bill, will instead sponsor a civil union bill giving same-sex couples the same state rights

as married couples.

A spokesperson for Marriage Equality Rhode Island expressed her disappointment saying that civil unions are a half-measure and that her group would oppose any legislation that doesn’t extend full marriage rights.

State Senate President Paiva Weed, a Democrat from Newport, is considered a key obstacle to the gay marriage legislation but supports civil unions and believes it will pass. Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee, an independent, announced that civil unions will be a step forward but he would prefer a law permitting gay marriage.

PAWTUCKET, RI – The popular toy, the Easy-Bake Oven got a new lease on life this past week when manufacturer, Hasbro announced it would redesign the device using a small heating element to replace the 100-watt light bulb which powered the small oven since its unveiling in 1963. The reborn Easy- Bake will be sold as the new Easy-Bake Ultimate Oven.

The future of the Easy-Bake Oven had been in doubt since the U.S. Government announced that incandescent light bulbs will no longer be sold in the United States beginning in 2012. With the new, more efficient heating system, the new oven will now bake an extended menu that includes cookies, red velvet cupcakes, checker cakes, pizza, pretzels, cinnamon twists and brownie sticks. This brand new oven will also have a more modern, stylish look and modern functions. The oven was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2006.

Two Steps Forward, One and a Half Steps Back

By BOB KESCKEMETY

Perhaps no state more than California expresses the confusion over the topic of marriage equality in the United States.

The status of same-sex marriage in California is unique among the 50 U.S. states, in that the state formerly granted marriage licenses to same-sex couples, but has discontinued doing so. The period of granting such licenses began on June 16, 2008, due to a ruling by the Supreme Court of California based on an equal protection argument and ended November 5, 2008, due to the passage of Proposition 8, an amendment to the California Constitution that limited marriages to those between one man and one woman. Before the passage of Proposition 8, California was only the second state to allow same-sex marriage. Marriages performed prior to the passage of Prop 8 remain legally recognized and retain full state-level marriage rights.

On August 4, 2010, federal judge Vaughn R. Walker, a conservative judge appointed to the federal bench by President H.W. Bush, declared the ban unconstitutional but temporarily stayed his ruling. On August 6, 2010, both sides submitted legal briefs to Judge Walker arguing for or against a long-term stay of the ruling. On August 12, 2010, Judge Walker had scheduled to lift his stay. On August 16, 2010, 9th Circuit Court of Appeals granted the motion to stay, ordered expedited briefing on the merits of the appeal, and directed the parties to brief the issue of why the appeal should not be dismissed for lack of standing. On August 17, 2010, the same Ninth Circuit panel ordered appeals calendared for oral argument during the week of December 6, 2010, in San Francisco. The Ninth Circuit has now requested the California Supreme Court to rule on an issue related to whether the Ninth Circuit has jurisdiction to hear the case.

Same-sex marriage remains a contentious issue within the state, with samesex marriage supporters trying to get another ballot initiative in the 2012 election to return the state to granting marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Currently, five states (Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont) and the District of Columbia do allow same sex unions.. However, the U.S. government does not recognize these marriages on a federal level. The states of New York, New Jersey, Maryland, and Rhode Island do not permit same-sex marriages, but do recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

California, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, Illinois, Colorado, Wisconsin, Maryland and Maine have bans on same-sex marriage but permit, on a state-by-state basis, certain rights such as limited rights or civil union rights. Thirty-one states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and/or civil unions of any kind, including Florida.

This year, there has been some movement along the lines of marriage equality:

RHODE ISLAND – The Rhode Island State House Judiciary Committee recently held hearings on a bill to permit same-sex marriage in that state.

The hearings on the bill included public statements: 137 people spoke in favor of the bill, 60 against. The next step is for the committee of vote on the bill which expected to pass which would then be passed on to the entire State House for discussion and vote.

HAWAII – The governor of Hawaii is expected to sign into law this week a civil unions law granting its residents full rights and privileges of marriage without actually using the term “marriage”. This bill will take effect January 1, 2012. In 1997, Hawaii was the first state to offer Reciprocal Beneficiaries which permitted same-sex couples access to a limited number of rights and benefits on a state level.

ILLINOIS – The governor of Illinois has signed a civil union law which will take effect June 1, 2011 giving its residents the full rights of marriage. Though there has been a momentum toward same-sex civil unions, there has also been movement against:

IOWA – Republican members of the Iowa House have proposed an amendment to the state’s constitution to say that “marriage between one man and one woman shall be the only legal union valid or recognized in this state.” Iowa already permits same-sex marriage. With a 60-40 Republican majority in the House, the amendment is considered certain to pass. However, it faces long odds in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where the leadership has consistently said they will never allow it to come up for a vote.

INDIANA – Republican lawmakers in Indiana have resumed pushing for a constitutional amendment that would shore up an existing state law banning gay marriage. A GOP-ruled House committee voted 8-4 along party lines recently to advance the proposal, which now moves to the full House for consideration. The amendment states that only marriage between one man and one woman is valid in Indiana, and prohibits civil unions by stating that a legal status “substantially similar” to marriage for unmarried people is not valid.

Bob Kecskemety is the News
Editor of the Florida Agenda.
Bob can be readed at
editor@FloridaAgenda.com

Photo: Richard Hatch , Courtesy, CBS Television

Rhode Island – Federal probation officers have recommended that reality television star, Richard Hatch be returned to prison for violations of his probation. Hatch, who won season one of the television show, “Survivor” was convicted in 2006 of failing to pay taxes on his $1,000,000 grand prize and was released from prison in 2009 and placed on 3-year supervised release. Conditions of his release were that he filed amended tax returns for the years 2000 and 2001 which he was ordered to do so four years ago. A judge agreed that Hatch was in violation but withheld punishment.

Mary McElroy, Hatch’s attorney said he didn’t re-file his taxes because he has an appeal pending in the U.S. Tax Court.