In response to an ad released by incumbent Rhode Island Lieutenant Governor Daniel McKee claiming early leadership on marriage equality, leaders of Rhode Island’s LGBTQ community condemned the lieutenant governor for taking credit for a fight they say he was absent from until the very end.

“I was involved in helping lead the fight for marriage equality in our state over decades of activism and organizing,” said Lauren Nocera, a leader in the LGBTQ community and longtime marriage equality activist. “From 1998 until 2013, I never saw Dan McKee take action – not until our bill was already on the verge of passing and it was politically safe to do so. It was disappointing to see McKee claiming credit for our fight in his campaign commercial. That’s not what leaders do.”

“Aaron Regunberg has actually shown up for our community,” added Wendy Becker, a decades-long advocate on LGBTQ issues. “Lieutenant Governor Dan McKee was entirely absent from our fight to ban conversion therapy, and our advocacy for respect in death for transgender people – fights that Aaron actively supported. And Aaron was knocking on doors and making phone calls for marriage equality years before McKee finally took action, just prior to the marriage bill being signed into law. Politicians can claim credit for our work, but we know Aaron is the leader who has actually been there for us.”

[From a press release via the Aaron Regunberg campaign.]