Rhode Island Congressman Jim Langevin On Same Sex Marriage: "Separate But Equal Is Not Equal"

For as long as I can remember, Rhode Island has always been one of the most staunchly Democratic states. Although Vermont (with 68%) and Hawaii (at 72%) gave Obama larger majorities in 2008, Rhode Island (63%) beat out his home state of Illinois (62%), Biden's Delaware (62%) and blue, blue Massachusetts (62%). The House members from Rhode Island could well have been outspoken progressive champions; but they haven't been. Patrick Kennedy and Jim Langevin have been moderates-- right in the center of the Democratic caucus. Now that David Cicciline, who had been the first openly gay mayor of Providence, has replaced Kennedy we'll have to see if he turns out to be the kind of fighting progressive heavily Democratic districts like his will support. So far his voting record shows him as the 72nd most progressive member of the House, a moderate. At least Cicciline won't be a moderate on equality for the LGBT community. Langevin always has been-- until now. In fact Congressman Langevin (110th most progressive) is known as a bit of a social conservative, especially bad on Choice and just so-so on gay equality.

This morning Congressman Langevin told us he has come a long way on this issue:

“My position has evolved as I have witnessed the impacts of current policies that do not offer marriage equality and from my belief that our civic institutions cannot have different sets of rights for different groups of citizens. Separate but equal is not equal. This is the only fair and responsible approach that ensures equal protection under the law while respecting the separation of church and state. This is an opportunity for Rhode Island, with our proud history of tolerance and freedom, to lead once more in taking on one of the great civil rights tests of this generation.”

Same sex marriage is on the front burner in Rhode Island right now. The state's openly gay House Speaker, Gordon Fox (D-Providence), says he's “doing everything in his power” to move forward legislation that would allow LGBT couples to marry. It has already passed the Judiciary Committee and tomorrow the state Senate will begin debate. Langevin, wrote a heartfelt and courageous OpEd in the Providence Journal Saturday:

Throughout my career in public service, I have strongly opposed discrimination based on sexual orientation at both the state and federal level, co-sponsoring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and hate crimes legislation, and supporting efforts to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.

While those topics have been controversial, they never elicited the intensely passionate and emotional debate that occurred as our nation began struggling with the question of same-sex marriage. For many years, I supported civil unions as a reasonable way to achieve consensus on a divisive issue, providing rights and protections to same-sex couples while respecting the deeply held beliefs of those not comfortable with the idea of marriage rights.

Then, three years ago, I attended the commitment ceremony of a longtime staff member and his partner of nine years. Before their friends and family, they professed their love, commitment and respect for each other. Their sentiments were just as moving, heartfelt and sincere as any of the vows I had heard at other weddings, yet I realized that their union would not be treated the same under the law. That difference struck me as fundamentally unjust, and I began to challenge the wisdom of creating separate categories of rights for certain groups of citizens. I began to see that civil unions fell short of the equality I believed that same-sex couples deserved.

As the debate about same-sex marriage continues in Rhode Island and in Washington, I have taken time to reflect carefully on my own position. Based on my own experiences and my firm belief that all Americans should be treated equally under the law, I am now convinced that affording full marriage equality rights to same-sex couples is the only fair and responsible approach for both Rhode Island and the nation. If our nation expects to provide equal protection to all, then our civic institutions must reflect that noble goal.

As a U.S. representative, I take seriously my constitutional responsibility to protect the rights and liberties of our citizens. Marriage equality is consistent with that view because it safeguards basic civil rights and provides appropriate legal protections so that all loving and committed couples may care for each other. At the same time, our nation’s fundamental freedom of religion dictates that religious institutions should be allowed to define marriage as they deem appropriate. The marriage-equality legislation before the General Assembly respects the important separation of church and state by not requiring religious institutions to change any of their practices or standards relating to marriage.

The members of the General Assembly now have a historic opportunity. As a former member of that body, I understand the challenges they face, but this is a time for leadership.

During my time as a state representative, I remember talking with my father about pending legislation to prevent discrimination based on sexual orientation, which was highly controversial at the time. While I greatly valued his thoughtful and balanced perspective, my father was certainly no social activist. He was just an ordinary man who had grown up through the civil-rights movement and always believed it was fundamentally unjust to treat people differently because of their race. When I told him I had decided to support the non-discrimination legislation, he expressed his pride in my decision because it showed that I viewed issues of fairness and justice as he did. And he was convinced that, in the same way racial discrimination became a shameful part of our history, one day our nation would look back in disbelief at a time when we denied our fellow citizens basic civil rights based on their sexual orientation. I now believe that day is within our reach.

As the General Assembly considers this important topic, I ask lawmakers and all Rhode Islanders to honor our state’s founding principles of tolerance and freedom and to support marriage equality in our state. It’s time to do the right thing.

This comes as a big boost to advocates for equality because the popular Langevin, a devout Catholic, has been known as someone who has always leaned conservative on divisive social issues. In some ways it's even more meaningful than the expected support from progressive U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed and represents the evolution of the American public in general.

[F]or the first time in American history, same-sex marriage has more support than opposition, a massive shift from the first time GSS asked the question just 22 years ago, when more than three-quarters of Americans opposed same-sex marriage and only 12.4 percent supported it.