Even with Gordon Fox, an openly gay man, having a strong shot at the speakership, gay marriage has been going nowhere fast in Rhode Island. And the overturning of gay marriage yesterday by Maine voters may lead more local legislators to conclude that public opinion remains heavier on the anti-same sex marriage side.

Perhaps with such thoughts in mind, a local pro-same-sex marriage coalition scheduled an action for 5:30 pm today (at the World War II monument on South Main Street in Providence) prior to the vote in Maine:

After the marriage referendum in Maine, many people are asking, what's next for Rhode Island?

Supporters of LGBT equality will rally on Wednesday, Nov. 4, in downtown Providence to answer that question.

"School children in Rhode Island continue to be bullied, schools are under fire from the Christian Right, and LGBT people of black, Hispanic, and Asian descent continue to experience discrimination from multiple directions," said Mike Airhart, a PEAC member. "Rhode Island won't achieve true equality until school kids are safe and minorities are free from bigotry."

Marriage equality remains a key objective: Opponents of marriage equality deny basic religious freedom to LGBT couples -- some of whom are religious themselves -- by prohibiting access to a civil institution on the basis of antigay churches' sectarian biases.

"While the law can't tell religious private religious organizations what to do -- although in the U.S. they're all publicly subsidized -- they should be publicly criticized for discrimination," said Shaun Joseph of the R.I. International Socialist Organization. 

Whether equality in Maine wins or loses, Rhode Islanders support the struggle of our neighbors in Maine -- even as we continue to work for equality at home.