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Loading ...Marriage equality bill passes Maine Senate
04.30.2009 1:49pm EDT
(Augusta, Maine) The Maine Senate on Thursday gave initial approval to legislation that would permit same-sex couples to marry.
The Senate voted 21-14 to approve the measure, following an emotional debate.At attempt by conservatives to put the issue before voters was soundly defeated. The measure now moves to the House.
Gov. John Baldacci has said he has not made up his mind on gay marriage, though gay marriage advocates have delivered more than 10,000 postcards asking him to support the legislation.
EqualityMaine and the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence called on the governor to endorse the bill and sign if if passes the legislature.
The groups also sent lawmakers copy of a book they prepared that includes interviews with 82 people who tell about the impact on their families of not having a gay marriage law.
The legislation would repeal Maine’s 12-year-old so-called Defense of Marriage law, which bars same-sex marriage and make marriage gender-neutral. It also states that churches would not be compelled to conduct same-sex weddings if it would be inconsistent with their doctrine.
The conservative Maine Marriage Alliance has said that if same-sex marriage appears to be on a track to legalization, it would press for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.
On Wednesday, the New Hampshire Senate passed legislation to legalize gay marriage. The bill passed the House a month ago.
Gov. John Lynch, who has said he believes the current civil union law works fine, has not said if he would veto the bill.
Same-sex marriage already is legal in three New England states – Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont
maine gov’s sis gay–may help
Great news…
But this won’t help bi-national same-sex couples at all.
United by Love-Divided by Law
The Uniting American Families Act
Because Americans should not be forced to choose between their homeland and their families.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euZsRQ9Mk_o
Here’s something else interesting about this topic: Will clergy be required to perform gay nups? I found it on DiversityInc.com, which often refers to stories on this site. Give it a look — very interesting subject matter.
http://www.diversityinc.com/public/5818.cfm
I like that. I like that New Englanders are more interested in being true to their best traditions instead of being chained to the past. I like that Mainers don’t want to be defined by external labels that may have nothing to do with what they believe. Much of the rest of the country has bought into the idea that our individual encounters don’t matter, that our votes and voices don’t matter. If it only takes one or two complaints to get a book about gay penguins banned from a library, don’t we understand it works the other way too?
Go, Maine, go!
….and here is what Gov. Baldacci told a citizen, Wed., when he calld them.
‘It was a very friendly and cordial conversation and as I later mentioned to Charlie, anyone can call a supporter- it takes guts to call somone who you KNOW disagrees with you.
But here’s the thing. Charlie had read the missive to me earlier in the day and I said, “No, don’t send that- let me research and verify further” and was told “Too late; it’s sent!”
So I asked to speak to the Governor for a moment…
Now understand, I have only met him once before when chaperoning a school field trip to the Statehouse and in real life am VERY shy about speaking out- eeks!
But I like John Baldacci, who is from “my neck of the woods”, and find him to be a very nice person. I especially like his record on important issues and think he has done a fairly good job, given the difficulties of the past decade.
Governor Baldacci has been supportive time and again and darn it, he called HERE.
So I thanked him for calling and for providing me with a wife’s ultimate “Dream Come True”, as I had told him NOT to send that email until I had verified. (and told him to relate the story to HIS wife at some point, as she would get a chuckle!) But I added that if I HAD found Charlie’s conclusion to have been the case, I would have been wholeheartedly behind it and the tone.
I described my background- a lifelong “Jim Longley” independant until February 2008, when I finally registered as a Democrat. That until a few years ago, if someone had told me that I would learn about, advocate and take up a cause in which I had no personal stake, I would have said they were crazy.
But in my mind, this is all about FAIRNESS. All Mainers- and their families- having the same rights, being treated the same, being recognized and protected under law the same.
He then gave me his views of Maine a a state and our fellow Mainers that showed me he loves this state as deeply as I do. That Mainers are very proud and independant, wanting their own civil rights, to be treated fairly, and are willing to let people live as they want to.
I was encouraged and continued, telling him about last week’s public hearing and how impressed I have been with the respectful tone set by Equality Maine and the moving stories, time and again, of families- just regular people and families- and that I had to leave because I felt I would burst into tears if I heard one more story of unequality.
That I spent 13 hours last week at the testimony (he had heard much of the testimony via livefeed and was especially impressed with the respectful messages), listening to moving stories of real Maine families, who simply want to have the same rights and protections that he and I have with OUR families.
That at one point late in the evening, I turned to a new friend and apologized, saying that I was so sorry that this was having to occur, that all of this should have been resolved DECADES ago.
At that point, he told me that civil rights sometimes take time to obtain.
I told him that I understood that all Mainers have an opinion regarding LD 1020 and while WE can all openly discuss them and many have already, HIS was the one opinion that had to be kept private and he HAS to keep quiet right now, as to let the legislative process play out without interference.
His response was that I was absolutely right.
Our later joint conclusion is that if a bill does pass and is presented to the governor for signing, he will indeed sign it.
HOWEVER, he did not say that specifically.
THIS was democracy at its best- our elected leader reaching out to speak at length with voters.
Thank you, Governor Baldacci!”