What’s next for same-sex marriage?

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Shenna Bellows, executive director for the Maine Civil Liberties Union, sees three options on the table for moving the same-sex marriage debate back through the legislature after the 2010 elections.

“We could bring the same bill back again with the new legislature,” Bellows said in an interview Wednesday. “Alternatively, we could bring a civil unions bill or we could bring a bill that provided additional protections but fell short of civil unions or marriage.”

Bellows spoke to students and faculty in the Bangor Room of Memorial Union Wednesday as part of the Women in the Curriculum and Women’s Studies Program lunch series. Charlotte Warren, associate director for Maine Women’s Lobby and Susan Farnsworth, a private practice attorney from Hollowell also spoke on the topic “Gay Marriage in Maine: What’s Next?”

Maine, which could have become the fifth state to grant same-sex couples the right to marriage (New Hampshire went on to take that distinction), voted the measure down in November. Bellows sat on the steering committee of the Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition, which also included Equality Maine and Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.

A court battle to overturn Proposition 8 — which reversed California’s same-sex marriage law — could end up in the Supreme Court. If the court overturns Propostion 8, it could lead to marriage equality in all 50 states, Bellows said. But she cautioned against proponents of same-sex marriage waiting for the Supreme Court.

“The court is nine human beings, and some are very conservative,” Bellows said.

Bellows also said it could potentially be dangerous to pursue a constitutional path to same-sex marriage, as was done in Iowa, where the supreme court ruled a ban on gay marriage unconstitutional.

“There’s some concern that a case brought at this time would not be successful because there’s a lack of precedent around a liberal interpretation of the equal protection clause [in Maine],” Bellows said. “It would be a disaster to bring a case too soon and lose because that would set us back in the legislature and in the court of public opinion.”

According to Bellows, proponents of same-sex marriage are working to support candidates who voted for the marriage equality bill in the upcoming elections. The MCLU is also working to establish “ambassadors” in rural communities who will talk with friends, family and community members about same-sex marriage. All three panelists stressed the need for proponents of same-sex marriage to keep talking.

“We need to focus on persuasion,” Bellows said.

“Speaking with people makes change last,” Farnsworth said. “It makes change make sense, makes it real.”

Warren, who was elected mayor of Hallowell the night same-sex marriage was defeated in Maine, said it was important for supporters to keep the conversation going by looking for “teachable moments” with the people they interact with everyday.

Bellows said the pro-same-sex marriage movement needed to make up about 80,000 votes to ensure victory at the polls again. She urged supporters to fill out blue postcards distributed by Equality Maine, telling their representatives where they stand on the marriage issue.

Despite the defeat at the polls last year, the three panelists were optimistic. Farnsworth and Bellows both noted the immense sea change in Maine since the time voters approved anti-discrimination legislation in 2005 to when they nearly approved same-sex marriage in 2009.

“For us to come this close to marriage equality in a single year is remarkable,” Bellows said.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 4th, 2010, 4:08 am. You can follow any responses to this article through the RSS feed.