NEW: Gay Rights Activists Demand Costa Disavow “Bigotry”
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
The gay rights group Marriage Equality Rhode Island (MERI) has publicly called upon state Rep. Doreen Costa to disavow the “bigotry” and “intolerance” of Sharon Angle, a Tea Party activist who is scheduled to speak at a Tea Party rally in North Kingstown tomorrow.
MERI took issue with a quote by Costa that appeared in a GoLocalProv.com article from Monday, in which Costa declared Angle’s visit as “a victory for our little state.” In an open letter to the freshman Representative, MERI stated “Ms. Angle has demonstrated an alarming propensity to align herself with anti-gay organizations and holds positions that a majority of Rhode Islander would find troubling.”
The letter went on to reference a political questionnaire in which Angle made clear her opposition to same-sex adoption, marriage equality, and including ‘sexual orientation’ as a protected minority under current civil rights laws. In the letter, Martha Holt, chairwoman of MERI, pointed out that supporting such positions comes in direct contrast to many Rhode Island state laws that are already in place in an effort to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTHolt put special emphasis on the adoption issue, citing the nearly 700 same-sex couples raising children in Rhode Island, “Would Ms. Angle destroy these families solely based on the parent’s sexual orientation, a position that is as morally bankrupt as it is offensive?” Holt questioned.
The letter further demanded that Costa contact Angle’s political organization and formally inform them that her “discriminatory principles are not welcome in the Ocean State.”
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