Mike Pisaturo (born April 14, 1963) is a former

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician, who served in the Rhode Island House of Representatives from 1996 to 2002. He was the first openly

homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

man to serve in that body."Where did everyone go?" ''

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...

'', October 27, 1998. He first ran for election to the state house in 1994, but was defeated that year. He won election in 1996. In 1997, he introduced the first bill that attempted to legalize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

in the state."R.I. same-sex marriage debate spans 20 years"
''

The Brown Daily Herald ''The Brown Daily Herald'' is the student newspaper of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Established in 1866 and published daily since 1891, The ''Herald'' is the second-oldest student newspaper among America's college dailies. I ...

'', April 18, 2013. Although the bill was defeated, he symbolically resubmitted it each year for the rest of his term. In 1998, he introduced the bill that successfully repealed the state's

sodomy Sodomy () or buggery (British English) is generally anal or oral sex between people, or sexual activity between a person and a non-human animal ( bestiality), but it may also mean any non- procreative sexual activity. Originally, the term ''sodo ...

laws, as well as a successful bill to grant hospital visitation rights to same-sex couples;"Michael Pisaturo, Rhode Island, 1996"
outhistory.org. in 1999, he introduced a successful bill allowing residents of the state to designate any person, family member or not, as the planner of their

funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...

. In 1999, he announced that he was considering a run for the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in the 2000 Congressional election, but later decided to run for another term in the state house."Pisaturo decides against Congress". ''

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'', August 1999. He won reelection to the state house in 2000. Pisaturo was defeated in the 2002 election. Following the end of his term, he was elected as a city councillor in Cranston in 2004.

References

1963 births Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives LGBT state legislators in Rhode Island Gay politicians Politicians from Cranston, Rhode Island Living people American LGBT city council members {{RhodeIsland-politician-stub