“I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.the governor, who was opposed to gay marriage at the outset of this process, signed the the bill into law barely an hour after the measure won final approval in the state legislature, with a final 31-8 vote in favor in the maine senate. maine now becomes the fifth state in the union to make same-sex marriage legal.
This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of church and state.
It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government."– gov. john baldacci
governor of maine
tuesday is a joke / played on those not quite prepared / the same game again
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
quote of the day
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As I understand it, this is most likely just step #1 because Maine has something called a "people's veto." With X number of signatures on a petition, the law can be suspended and put forth for a public referendum.
ReplyDeleteThings still look favorable, though, even if that happens. Equality Maine has been building an aggressive field organization since at least November, and Maine is a small enough state where grassroots organization could make the difference. My friend Monique is running the campaign there, and I know they've studied the best practices and worst practices of the marriage campaigns in states across the country.