Gay Marriage Talks
Color Maine Debate
By AP from the
NYTimes on the Web, August 16, 2005
AUGUSTA, Maine -- Maine is in
the midst of its third referendum campaign in eight years to decide if gays
should be given broad civil rights protections. And while the measure has
nothing to do with same-sex marriage, conservatives are warning Maine could go
the way of Massachusetts if gays are given more rights.
''Absolutely,'' said Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic
League of Maine, embracing the gay marriage connection. ''This vote in
November either sends us toward it or points us away from it.''
The dispute began after Gov. John Baldacci signed a new law in March that would
extend the Maine Human Rights Act to make discrimination based on sexual
orientation illegal in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations and
education.
A conservative church-led alliance led a petition drive to demand a ''people's
veto'' to reject it, and a vote is scheduled for November.
Gay rights advocates denounce the gay-marriage tactic as a smoke screen.
Maine law already bans gay marriage, and language approved by the Legislature
says the anti-discrimination measure ''may not be construed to create, add,
alter or abolish any right to marry.''
''Look,'' says Jesse Connolly of the organization known as Maine Won't
Discriminate, ''the Christian Civic League knows they can't win an election
based on the facts in this bill.''
Fifteen states -- including the rest of New England -- prohibit discrimination
based on sexual orientation, according to Carrie Evans, state legislative
director of the Washington-based Human Rights Campaign.
But the matter still is open in Maine, where state law now prohibits
discrimination based on race, color, sex, disability, religion, ancestry and
national origin.
Maine is ''the battleground state for this issue on the national scene,''
Connolly says.
Maine has long been fertile ground for social activists -- from Prohibition
adherents to back-to-the-land enthusiasts. These days, it has also become
referendum-friendly, with hot-button issues from casino gambling to
physician-assisted suicide going directly to voters.
Maine's Human Rights Act was passed in 1971 and the political struggle over
whether it should cover gays is decades-old.
A 1997 law extending gay rights was narrowly repealed by a people's veto the
following year. In 2000, voters were asked if they would ratify the
Legislature's approval of another gay rights bill: The vote was 314,012 in
favor and 318,846 against.
This time, the debate has taken on a new overtone, with opponents linking the
question of discrimination to the issue of same-sex marriage. At a rally
in June, Heath and others assembled under a banner that said, ''The Coalition
for Marriage.''
Heath says granting more civil rights could open the door to more sweeping
interpretations when it comes to marriage.
''That's the argument that's been used by judges in support of marriage
rights,'' he said.
Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage. Eighteen states
have passed constitutional amendments outlawing same-sex marriage. Two
states, Vermont and most recently Connecticut, have legalized civil unions.
Although Maine has a statute that defines marriage as between one man and one
woman, a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage was
rejected by lawmakers who said it was unnecessary.
Last year, the state created a domestic-partner registry that covers both
same-sex and heterosexual couples and allows them to inherit property and be
designated as a guardian or next of kin.
For partisans, a legislative hearing in March demonstrated there is no common
ground on the issue.
Charla Bansley, state director of Concerned Women for America of Maine, said in
written testimony that ''what the homosexual activists are seeking is official
social approval of the homosexual lifestyle.''
But Donna Minnis wrote that ''the 'Gay Agenda' has indeed been revealed, and it
bears a remarkable resemblance to the U.S. Constitution.''
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