Maine Marriage Equality Fight Heats Up
In May, the Maine Legislature approved and Gov. John Baldacci signed a law that made Maine the fifth state in the nation to allow same-sex couples to marry.
Tomorrow Anti-Marriage Equality opponents, Stand for Marriage Maine, who are primarily supported and funded by the Catholic Church and other religious groups, are expected to turn in thousands of petition signatures to Maine’s Secretary of State in the state capitol of Augusta. They are fighting to overturn Maine Marriage Equality law and are demanding that the issue go before voters in November.
Stand for Marriage Maine must submit 55,087 valid signatures to keep the law from taking effect in September and to trigger the statewide vote on Election Day.
Meanwhile, in Portland, supporters of Marriage Equality held an open house Wednesday at the Maine Freedom to Marry new campaign headquarters to raise money for the fight.
“This campaign is going to win because we have extraordinary grass-roots support from regular Mainers,” Jesse Connolly, Maine Freedom to Marry’s campaign manager, said in a statement last week, “We fully expect to be outspent by those who would deny lesbian and gay couples the right to marry. But this is an issue that speaks to people’s hearts.”
Groups on both sides of the of issue of same-sex marriage in Maine are building massive campaign war chests in expectation of a costly political campaign that is already drawing national attention and money.
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The people who collected signatures in Maine to stop marriage equality did so by misleading people, lying, and using deception. These people who claim to be “right” or “moral” but then use evil, sinful, lying ways. Here’s what one of my friends from Maine told me.
Sadly “Stand for Marriage Maine” collected many signatures by misleading people to believe they would not be able to vote unless they “registered” with those who were collecting signatures. At the Old Port Festival a woman at the top of Exchange Street was collecting signatures for the vote to ban gay marriage, but she was promoting it as if you were registering to vote. She said “Are you registered votes in Maine would you like to register here?” It was one sentence, she didn’t pause. I asked what we were registering for and she said “To determine if marriage is between a man and a woman or a man and a man or whatever.” Then came the best part, she said “Would you like to sign so you can vote?” As if I couldn’t vote if I didn’t sign. She wasn’t telling people that it was a petition to stop gay marriage by putting it to a vote, she was convincing people to sign thinking that they had to or they wouldn’t be allowed to vote. There was nothing that even indicated what or why people where to sign. It’s not about Gay Marriage, it’s about Hate and Control. The fact they collected signatures so quickly only proves they preyed on the elderly and ignorant. This only provides evidence that many Mainers still have much growing up to do.
Do you really want to support people who lied to you, deceived you, who are trying to force you to spread discrimination and bigotry? Don’t let these anti-gay people control your lives and choices. Support marriage equality in Maine.
Shadow Man,
These individuals who were duped need to file a complaint right away. I believe they can have their name removed from the petition if they file a complaint and let it be known that they were tricked into signing this.