Maine legalizes same sex marriage!
Maine's governor signed a freshly passed bill Wednesday approving gay marriage, making it the fifth state to approve the practice and moving New England closer to allowing it throughout the region....The Maine Senate voted 21-13, with one absent, for a bill that authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill Tuesday.
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Yay! This is such fantastic news.
However, to be honest, this pours yet more salt in the wound of the California debacle. :/
Or you can look at it like I do.
I think Prop 8 passing was a wake up call for elected officials and activists across the nation. I worked on the No on 8 campaign, and I very much felt the loss, but I would like to see our work in California as creating the urgency required to spark a nationwide movement towards marriage equality.
As that horrible cliche goes, we may have lost the battle, but we will win the war! The proof is in the recent victories across the US!
lets hope this one doesnt end like california's... *sigh
Yay!...these rights are long overdue across the country...but at least some states are getting it right. Great job Maine Senate/House/Governor.
And yeah eyes_interpret_through_language, lets hope this doesn't start any sort of backlash (as in California).
This is a great time to be living in New England... now if only I could find someone to marry :)
Fighting for marriage equality is hard, finding someone worth marrying is even harder lol
Good :)
Not much of a comment, I know. I can't believe some states/nations are so backwards they don't allow this.
Good :)
Not much of a comment, I know. It's just stupid that some states/nations don't allow this.
Great news! Let's hope the other states do this as well!
I wonder if any of these recent rulings in favor of same-sex marriage will further influence the california supreme court judges to overturn prop 8.
The avalanche has BEGUN!
This is vaguely off-topic (tho related), but I have a side question that has been nagging me ever since the gay marriage thing started snowballing this year and maybe one of the lawyers on here can help me out.
Back in college, I did a bunch of research for a professor on incest laws criminalizing intrafamilial sex. At least at the time (and if memory serves), virtually all the states I was looking at had *some* kind of legislation making it illegal to sleep with, much less marry, close family members... and this was post-Lawrence v. Texas.
Does anyone know if these same-sex marriage bills have any impact on incest laws? I wonder because I keep seeing language, like in this AP article saying that these bills "authorize marriage between any two people" but I am not sure if that is technically true.
OK just curious!
Hooray! I've lived in Maine my whole life and I've never been more proud of my state. This is truly a day to celebrate.
The downside is that the opposition is already gathering signatures for a people's veto. They would need 55,000 signatures and I fear this is possible.
Our local paper ran a story on this:
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/6296211.html
"One of the most powerful speeches on the House floor came from Rep. Sheryl Briggs, D-Mexico, whose daughter is lesbian.
Briggs said she struggled with the bill -- calling it "the most difficult decision" she's ever had to make -- but ultimately could not support it.
"The deepest part of my soul tells me this is wrong," she said. "
I find this deeply saddening. I feel bad for her daughter, who has to live with the fact that her mother doesn't consider her a person worthy of the same rights that she herself enjoys.
The tone of the representatives and senators was either "this is a really hard decision for me" or one of complete dismissal. One representative even said ""I would much rather work on ten $569 million budget shortfalls than to make one decision on gay marriage,""
I don't think this vote was a waste of time, and if this guys does maybe he doesn't deserve to have a seat in the house.
In short, I am very, very excited about this news, but Maine still has a long way to come with regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights. If this had gone to referendum vote, it almost surely would have been voted down. My hope is that once people see that allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry doesn't make their marriages any less meaningful, they'll forget what they were even so angry about.
I'm so proud for my state!
I know there's so much work left to do on this issue nation- and world-wide, but holy cow, it feels really good to be on the crux of history right now as states keep changing their laws legislatively or judicially. 10 years ago this seemed inconceivable and 5 years ago this seemed 50 years away.
Anyone notice the cross pattern the sun is making in that neat flag?
Maybe it's a sign.
It looks like a star to me...
Looks like an "A" to me.
Gold star, A+, you know. Thumbs up from the universe if you believe that kind of thing.
It's the gold star lesbian from the sky!
Hell yes! Thanks Baldacci, for not fucking it up.
I think I might just stick around Maine for a little while, just for being accepting of us ;)
I just heard about this as a video of the Maine flag was raised over the HRC headquaters in DC was posted on youtube today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fuv_RhvJpTI
Did you see the marriage proposal by text? So sweet, gave me a big smile. Sidebar pic here:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=254850&ac=PHnws
oy vey, I'm tired of Feinisting always having a party when a state legalizes same sex marriage.
You know what this whole debate, especially the turn-around in California tells me? It shows me the absurdity of *hoping* that a state/government will legitimize my relationships, and the insanity of the patriarchal and heteronormative institution of marriage at all. Legit in one state, not another; today but not tomorrow: I don't even care anymore!
How much power over ourselves do we give to the state when we beg for our relationships to be legitimized? I find it so humiliating and disempowering to lobby the oppressor (mostly white male elites in the legislature) for acceptance and legitimization.
How much are we limiting ourselves by focusing the debate on marriage?
You raise a great point. Do you propose that we fight for full rights within the context of a Civil Union, making it (legally) equal to marriage, but different in terms of connotation and culture? Interesting.
To draw a comparison, it goes back to Black separatism versus integration/multiculturalism. The philosophy of X v King. Should Queer people accept aspects of heteronormative culture and legal rights when offered, or shove it back? Should we even ask for it, or find our own way? Is our stance "back to Africa" (or should I say, "back to San Francisco"?)
I'm ambiguous, but as it stands, there are many practical reasons for marriage. Legalities, property, children, we all know the reasons. There are emotional ones as well. Aspects of het culture is entrenched within each of us, the queerest of the queer. I've known lesbians who were not married, but still referred to each other as "wife." "Partner" seems too sterile. I loathe the word. To call the love of your life "husband" or "wife" when it is improper to the heteronormative construct is an act of subversion. To call him or her your "partner" is an act of submission, in my view. If the neighbors turn a blind eye, they may just mistake your girlfriend for another "partner" in your law firm.
GREAT!!!!