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Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
On Tuesday morning, voting stations will open in town halls and schoolhouses across the state. Mainers will participate in the democratic process, and decide on some of the most important questions in recent memory. Newspapers cannot vote, but if they could, these are the votes The Maine Campus would cast:
Question 1: 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?
No. It is important for Maine to take a stand to declare all human beings are born deserving of the same rights. This bill makes clear that the state will recognize marriage equally, rather than distinguish acceptable and unacceptable forms of human relationships. Leave that to the churches, and let them debate and mull their own positions in accordance with their own traditions. This bill poses no threat to that process.
Question 2: Do you want to cut the rate of the municipal excise tax by an average of 55 percent on motor vehicles less than six years old and exempt hybrid and other alternative-energy and highly fuel-efficient motor vehicles from sales tax and three years of excise tax?
No. The vehicle excise tax funds important road repair in our towns and municipalities. The proposed tax cuts disproportionately benefits Mainers who can afford new cars and hybrids. It is unfair for only the less wealthy to pay taxes from which all people benefit.
Question 4: Do you want to change the existing formulas that limit state and local government spending and require voter approval by referendum for spending over those limits and for increases in state taxes?
No. Since Colorado enacted TABOR, spending on higher education has dropped 31 percent.
For UMaine, a drop of that size represents a loss of $27.7 million in state funding. That’s teachers and staff who won’t be paid, buildings that won’t be repaired, research that won’t be conducted and financial aid that won’t be awarded. TABOR is wrong for all Mainers — especially those connected to this university.
Question 5: Do you want to change the medical marijuana laws to allow treatment of more medical conditions and to create a regulated system of distribution?
Yes. Medical marijuana is legal in our state. Doctors should be able to prescribe the drug as they see fit, and patients should be able to access their drugs safely.
Whether one agrees with these views or not, don’t forget to show up at your local polling place and vote.
