News

Mainers to speak on gay marriage bill April 22

Supporters and opponents will debate positions at an open forum at the Augusta Civic Center

By Macey Hall

Posted on April 20, 2009, at 12:00 a.m.

Heather Steeves for The Maine Campus

Students and administrators showed up to start off Pride Week with a march and the raising of the rainbow flag.

The Maine legislature is offering Mainers a chance to have their say on L.D. 1020, a marriage equality bill that would permit same-sex couples to marry in Maine. There will be a public hearing all day April 22 at the Augusta Civic Center about L.D. 1020. An estimated 200 people are expected to speak on the bill.

If passed, any two people -regardless of sex – could obtain a marriage license. L.D. 1020 is sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, along with more than 60 other state legislators.

“I am a co-sponsor of the bill and I am a huge supporter of passing marriage equality into Maine law. I am honestly a huge supporter of ending the discrimination that is in place against same-sex couples,” said Rep. Emily Cain, D-Orono.

L.D. 1020, as a law, will affirm that religious institutions still have control over their own religious doctrine and teachings concerning who may marry within each faith. This is set forth in article 1, section 6 of the Maine Constitution and in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

“If this bill is passed, it will immediately create a conflict with religious liberties, and that’s been a foundation of our country from the very beginning, and we shouldn’t institute a new policy that we know will create those conflicts,” said Pastor Bob Emrich, director of the Maine Jeremiah Project. “I think it’s too dangerous of a social experiment.”

The Maine Jeremiah Project is a marriage advocacy group, and supports the “sanctity of life, traditional family values, freedom of religion and educational choice,” according to its Web site.

“I don’t think redefining marriage is any good. We can’t just change what the meanings of things are. It’s a bad piece of legislation,” Emrich said.

Supporters of the bill are expected to speak on Wednesday.

“I think we know that there are couples and families from all over Maine who are going to be at the hearing, testifying. We expect that families and couples will testify about why they want to get married and how they are harmed because they cannot get married,” said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union. “We expect that civil rights leaders and constitutional law experts will talk about why marriage is a civil rights issue.”

If passed, the bill will recognize same-sex marriages from other states. Supporters of the bill argue it is about equality.

“Maine people are fair, independent-minded people. I think most Maine people, if they really understood how discriminatory Maine law is to same-sex couples, [would realize] that their relationships are not recognized under the law for marital rights. I think most Maine people would say that’s wrong,” Cain said.

“We’re really excited about the hearing. We think it’s going to be really important for the passage of this bill, to show statewide support for marriage,” Bellows said.

The public hearing is scheduled to being at 9 a.m. and end at 8 p.m.

“I think the discussion should not be about individuals. It should be about the social good, about what’s best for society,” Emrich said.

Campus Currents: Gay Marriage