Marriage Equality Bill Advances in Maine

A joint judiciary committee of the Maine Legislature yesterday approved a bill that could make Maine the fifth state to recognize marriage equality, and sets the stage for the Maine House and Senate to begin voting on it as soon as next week.

Eleven of the 14 committee members voted in favor of the bill, two voted against it and one proposed letting voters decide the issue in a statewide referendum.

Yesterday’s vote in Maine came nearly a week after an estimated 3,500 people packed a marathon public hearing in the Augusta Civic Center. The public was not invited to speak at yesterday hearings, but the deliberations were interrupted by an outburst by a protester, who was escorted by police from the State House, shouting that the bill was morally wrong.

During the debate leading up to yesterday’s vote, several committee members said they were compelled to look at the bill through lens of law and Maine’s constitution, and not those of religion.

While the bill would allow Marriage Equality in Maine and change state law so that same-sex marriages legally performed in other states would be recognized in Maine, it also allows religious institutions and clergy to refuse to marry gay or lesbian couples.

Marriage Equality opponents acknowledge the likelihood of a House vote in favor of the bill, there is support in the Senate for sending the bill out to public vote and unless both chambers agree on a single version of the bill, it will die. Sen. David Hastings, R-Fryeburg, is offering his own Senate version of the bill that would send it out to a referendum. Opponents say they will continue their efforts next week to defeat the legislation when it hits the floor of the Maine Senate.

Even though Gov. John Baldacci has not taken a position on the Marriage Equality Bill, he did suggest in a statement release yesterday that some kind of statewide referendum by Maine voters would be appropriate. “Let me just say, it was very clear to me that the turnout of people who were there that this is an issue that people feel strongly about and they’re going to want to make sure that they have their say,” Baldacci’s statement said and added, “In our state, I think they’re going to want to be part of the decision-making. I don’t know what form that’s going to take or how it’s going to be done, but you just can’t help but feel that way.”

However, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, said he respectfully disagreed with Senators Hastings and Governors Baldacci desire to let voters decide.

“If the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s had only been sent out to voters, it would have failed. We are elected to make these decisions, tough as they may be. It is what we are here to do,” Damon said in a statement.

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