Vermont Governor To Speak With Rhode Islanders About Legalizing Same Sex Marriage; Governor Shumlin Says Marriage Equality Was The Right Thing And “The Sky Never Fell”

The Associated Press is reporting that Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin will travel to Rhode Island this week at the invitation of same sex marriage supporters to talk about Vermont's experience as the first state to offer civil unions and its later transition to allowing marriage for same sex couples. Vermont was the first state to offer legal recognition to same sex couples when it passed its civil union law in 2000, and in 2009, became the first state in the country to offer those couples full marriage solely on a legislative action, absent the involvement of a court. Shumlin was president pro tem of the Senate on both occasions. "We have a wonderful story to tell," Shumlin told The Associated Press in an interview Monday. "We were the first state in the country to do the right thing, just because it was the right thing to do. ... There were those who thought the sky would fall in, but we did the right thing and the sky never fell." The governor's trip, planned for Thursday, arrives after an invitation from the pro-same sex marriage group Marriage Equality Rhode Island. Shumlin will meet with Governor Lincoln Chafee and with legislative leaders in Providence. Rhode Island lawmakers have debated gay marriage for years, but chances for the bill to pass this year appear the best they have ever been. Chafee has been a longtime supporter of same sex marriage and House Speaker Gordon Fox is gay and a co-sponsor of the bill. Greg Pare, a spokesman for Rhode Island Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed, a same sex marriage opponent seen as an obstacle to passing a bill, said he did not know whether she would meet with Shumlin. Same sex marriage supporters in both Vermont and Rhode Island praised Shumlin’s decision to make the trip. "We are extremely pleased that Governor Shumlin is taking time out of his busy schedule to visit Rhode Island, and that he has accepted our invitation to visit Rhode Island to advocate for passage of marriage equality legislation," said Bill Fischer, a spokesman for Marriage Equality Rhode Island. Sheryl Rapee-Adams, a board member with Vermont Freedom to Marry, noted Shumlin had written to New Jersey lawmakers in 2009, urging them to follow Vermont's lead. That state has civil unions, but not marriage equality for same sex couples. "This is not a new thing for (Shumlin) to assist other states that are transitioning to marriage equality," Rapee-Adams said. "I see it as a service to other legislators who are committed to equality for all the citizens of their states."