Gay marriage supporters hand out Valentines
About a dozen gay and lesbian couples came to the Statehouse today to talk about why they think they should be allowed to legally marry in Maine.
And, they handed out Valentines to state lawmakers as they made their way into the morning session.
“Our stories, our lives, our love and our commitment to each other are what is truly at the heart of marriage in Maine,” said Jill Barkley of Portland who spoke with her partner, Diane Hitchcock, at her side. “Being able to legally commit to one another as spouses will secure our life together and provide added protection for our future family.”
The Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition is lobbying legislators to support a bill sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, who is sponsoring a bill to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry in Maine.
Opponents of the measure will gather at St. Paul Center in Augusta from 3-5 p.m. today for a talk called “Ramifications of Genderless Marriage in Maine.” That talk is sponsored by the Maine Coalition of Concerned Families.
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Central Maine Morning Sentinel – Augusta,ME,USA
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/gay-marriage-…
Gay marriage supporters hand out Valentines
About a dozen gay and lesbian couples came to the Statehouse today to talk about why they think they should be allowed to legally marry in Maine.
And, they handed out Valentines to state lawmakers as they made their way into the morning session.
“Our stories, our lives, our love and our commitment to each other are what is truly at the heart of marriage in Maine,” said Jill Barkley of Portland who spoke with her partner, Diane Hitchcock, at her side. “Being able to legally commit to one another as spouses will secure our life together and provide added protection for our future family.”
The Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition is lobbying legislators to support a bill sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, who is sponsoring a bill to allow gay and lesbian couples to marry in Maine.
Opponents of the measure will gather at St. Paul Center in Augusta from 3-5 p.m. today for a talk called “Ramifications of Genderless Marriage in Maine.” That talk is sponsored by the Maine Coalition of Concerned Families.
See Gay marriage supporters hand out Valentines
Central Maine Morning Sentinel – Augusta,ME,USA
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/gay-marriage-…
Vermont closer to legalizing gay marriage
Nine years after becoming the first state to permit civil unions, Vermont moved a step toward legalizing gay marriage Friday.
A bill that would allow same-sex unions was introduced in the Legislature, causing a crowd of about several hundred supporters to gather at the Statehouse in celebration.
“This really is a great day and a part of moving forward to a time when all Vermont couples will be treated equally under our laws,” said a sponsor, Rep. Mark Larson.
A similar bill is expected to be introduced later in the state Senate.
The House legislation has 59 sponsors, none of them Republican, though some GOP lawmakers have said they’ll vote for the bill, Larson said.
“I know that there’s broad support in the House,” he said.
Despite the enthusiasm, it’s unclear if the measure will see any action this session, with lawmakers preoccupied with the state’s fiscal crisis that has led to voluntary pay cuts, court closings and Gov. Jim Douglas’s proposal to lay off more than 600 state workers.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/02/vermont-close…
Gay marriage likely to return to Mane Legislature in 209
Supporters and opponents of gay marriage are gathering signatures, lobbying lawmakers and drafting legislation in anticipation of a Statehouse battle over the issue in 2009.
In recent weeks, the politically charged issue has been heating up in Maine ahead of the new legislative session, which begins in early January. Coalitions of religious leaders on both sides have held press conferences advocating laws that would either make it legal for same-sex couples to wed or constitutionally prohibit the practice.
The advocacy group Equality Maine is ramping up its game, after three years of a low-key public education campaign to highlight gay and lesbian issues. And in opposition, a new group, the Maine Marriage Alliance, is pushing for an amendment to the state constitution that would define marriage as being between a man and a woman.
“Efforts are pretty clearly under way to simply redefine marriage in the state,” said the Rev. Bob Emrich, pastor of Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth and a founder of the alliance. “Let’s put that issue to rest. We want to define marriage, put it in the current constitution so we don’t have to wonder if the court or Legislature will overturn it.”
Equality Maine has been talking with various groups around the state since 2005, when voters upheld a gay rights law passed by the Legislature, according to executive director Betsy Smith. On Election Day, Equality Maine had 350 volunteers at 86 polling places, asking residents to sign postcards supporting same-sex marriage that would be sent to legislators. The goal was 10,000 signatures, and they collected 33,190, said Smith.
“There is clearly a lot of support for us winning marriage in Maine. There’s a lot of momentum, there’s a lot of enthusiasm. We’re really getting a lay of the land,” she said. “We’d be very excited to go forward with a bill.”
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Kennebec Journal, ME
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/gay-marriage-…
