Staff Writer
When voters go to the polls next Tuesday, they will be faced with seven referendum questions, but none has garnered more attention than Question 1. Question 1, is a People’s Veto to “An Act To End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom,” which was signed into law May 6 by Governor John Baldacci. The original bill was sponsored by Senator Dennis Damon of Hancock and passed by a House vote of 89-57 on May 5. The Senate passed the bill May 5 with a vote of 21-13.
According to the Maine Legislature roll call, most of the Aroostook County delegates in the Maine Senate and House of Representatives opposed the enactment of L.D. 1020. Senators Troy Jackson (Allagash) and Roger Sherman (Houlton) both voted “no” on the final bill, while in the House, Representatives Bernard Ayotte (Caswell), Tyler Clark (Easton), Peter Edgecomb (Caribou), Charles Theriault (Madawaska) and Michael Willette (Presque Isle) voted “no” on the bill. Only Reps. Richard Cleary (Houlton) and Patricia Sutherland (Chapman) voted “yes.”
To overturn this law, a “People’s Veto” was initiated this summer when more than 100,000 signatures were collected on a petition to send the matter to voters. A people’s veto allows voters to overturn any bill signed into law by the Maine Legislature.
The question reads: “Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”
A “yes” vote overturns the new law, making it illegal for same-sex couples to marry in Maine. A “no” vote, allows the new law to remain in effect.
Reverend Dave Hutchinson of the Unitarian Church in Houlton is encouraging voters to vote “no” on Question 1.
“One of our principles is promoting respect for the inherent worth and dignity of every person.” Rev. Hutchinson said. “We feel that civil marriage is a civil right. We believe no one should be dehumanized through acts of exclusion, oppression or violence because of their identities.”
Pastor Randall Burns of the Military Street Baptist Church in Houlton said while his church has not taken a stance for either side of the issue, he was voting yes on Question 1.
“Within our congregation, we are very diverse,” Pastor Burns said. “The majority will probably vote ‘yes,’ but there are those that will vote ‘no.’ I haven’t been proclaiming from the pulpit how people should vote. That is different from some of my peers, and I understand that.
“I, personally, am voting ‘yes,’” he continued. “God is the one who established marriage and we look at things through a Biblical world view. That view is clear that God created marriage to be between a man and a woman.”
Pastor Burns acknowledged that the world doesn’t always look at things from a Biblical view.
“We feel very strongly that we need to stand for what we feel was God’s plan and it wasn’t for us to mess with,” he said.
Supporters of the “Yes on 1” campaign argue that same-sex couples are already protected under Maine’s domestic partner laws, and therefore a law making marriage legal was not necessary. According to the group’s Web site (www.standformarriagemaine.com), L.D. 1020 eliminates Maine’s commitment to promoting monogamous marriage between a man and a woman and eliminates any interest that children have in the state promoting marriage.
“The [Maine] Legislature has thrown on the scrap heap Maine’s historic commitment to promoting marriage as an essential building block of society,” the Web site states. “More troubling, the interests of children in having strong marriages in Maine have been completely eliminated.”
Supporters for the “No on 1” campaign counter that marriage is about supporting two individuals, regardless of sexual preference, who make a lifelong commitment to one another. According to the group’s Web site (www.protectmaineequality.org), “Marriage equality honors the commitment that thousands of loving, same-sex couples in Maine have made to each other, often for decades. Without marriage equality, loving, committed same-sex couples are not recognized as a legal pair. They cannot file taxes jointly, do not have access to health insurance as a family and are not allowed to inherit property at the time of death without the hardships of crushing taxes. Their children are not entitled to all of the rights and protections conferred automatically on a family headed by a married couple.”
Both political groups have thrust children into the campaign.
The “Yes on 1” group states a “yes” vote would “protect our children from being taught in public schools that same-sex marriage is the same as traditional marriage. The “No on 1” group counters, “Marriage equality protects children. It guarantees the children of same-sex couples all the rights and protections that marriage grants automatically to a married couple’s children.”
