Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee is participating is a panel discussion at New York University today to discuss the “economic harms” of not allowing gay couples to marry. See full story here. Business leaders in Rhode Island have announced the formation of a new coalition in favor of legalizing gay marriage, and the Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island has announced its support for same-sex marriage in the state, the only state in New England which has not legalized gay unions. From the Providence Journal:
Board of Rabbis of Greater Rhode Island has announced its support for legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry in Rhode Island.
Rabbi Amy Levin of Temple Torat Yisrael, the board president, said Wednesday that the statement of support was drafted last week and received “no veto” when it was circulated among all if the board’s 24 Conservative, Reform, Orthodox and Reconstructionist rabbis.
The board based its support partly on the “lessons of Jewish history” that “provide us with a mandate to work for civil rights.”
Read more here.