Maine's Senate voted 21 to 14 this week in support of LD 1020 a law to allow for marriage equality in Maine by allowing same-sex couples to marry. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post about this very subject and I want to re-post it here again with a couple of minor edits.
For my Maine readers, all 1.34 of you, I wanted to share this link – http://eqfed.org/campaign/house_final/
Clicking on that link will bring you to a page that will allow you to write to your state representative in support of LD 1020 Maine’s same-sex marriage bill. There is a preformatted letter or you can edit it as you wish, but by filling in your address it will automatically route the email to the representative for your district. I am hopeful, but not optimistic that this legislation will pass, though with the recent legislation in Iowa and Vermont, and the pending legislation in New Hampshire it is entirely possible.
This isn't about special rights, it is about equality. Do not be fooled by the Maine Marriage Initiative and the Catholic Diocese of Maine; Maine's domestic partnership laws do not even come close to granting the 1,138 benefits, rights and protections of marriage. And with a heterosexual divorce rate hovering around 50% don't even try to tell me that my right to get married would somehow defile the sanctity of “traditional” marriage. Are people really just concerned that so many loving, same-sex couples in life-long committed relationships would defile the sanctity of heterosexual divorce? Also don't give me the "a child needs a mother *and* a father" speech either; if people really feel that way then do they advocate taking children away from single parents- gay parents produce far fewer gay children than heterosexual parents do. Furthermore if an argument consists of telling me that the purpose of marriage is to procreate then surely one must object to the marriage of infertile couples or couples who choose to not have children, because that, too would be an abomination unto God.
And if one is going to use the "it's in the Bible!" excuse, then they had better come up with one darn good argument for their case. The very book that most Christian fundamentalists use to argue against same sex marriage also states that one has sinned if they have touched the flesh of a cloven hooved animal, or if one has worn a cloth woven of two threads, or been even in the company of a menstruating woman. If, and this is a very big "if", they have sworn off ham & bacon, and have committed to never again wearing a poly/cotton blend shirt or be in the company of any woman during her period, then and only then may they use Leviticus in their argument. So if the Bible very clearly speaks against divorce, of which now only heterosexual couples are eligible, and if one argues that same-sex couples should not be married because it is against God's law, why do opponents purport that only gay people should be bound by Biblical law? If one is going to hide behind the Bible to defend his or her bigoted views then one should have the common decency to be integritous enough to live by its every word and not just the chapters and verses that can be handpicked to suit a cause.
“The eight Biblical references (and not a single one by Jesus) to alleged homosexuality are very small indeed when compared to the several hundred references (and many by Jesus) to money and the necessity for justly distributing wealth. Yet few people go on a rampage about the issue of a just economic system, using the Bible as a base.” -Suzanne Pharr
“The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362 to heterosexuals. This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t love heterosexuals. It’s just that they need more supervision.” -Lynn Lavner
Please, take a part in the issues that affect you and the people you care about. Let your voice be heard, participate in democracy and remember that dissent is patriotic!
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