Marriage Equality Foes reach signature goal in Maine to force statewide vote

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12783240?source=rss


PORTLAND, Maine — Gay marriage foes in Maine say they've collected enough signatures to stop a new law from going into effect and to force a statewide vote.

Mark Mutty from the Stand for Marriage Maine coalition said today it took four weeks to gather the more than 55,000 signatures necessary to put gay marriage to a vote.

The law allowing gay marriage was scheduled to take effect Sept. 12 but will be put on hold after the signatures are submitted and certified.

Six states allow gay marriage. Maine became the fifth to allow gay marriage in May, and New Hampshire followed suit.

The Secretary of State could vet every last signature with a fine tooth comb. So much as an undotted i or an uncrossed t, or an illegible signature, or is not a registered voter and that signature is DQ.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Dunlap

On the bright side though, even if we narrowly lose such a vote, there's nothing to stop the legislature from voting to legalize gay marriage again and again. The fundies will never be able to get a gay marriage ban on the ballot in Maine, the legislature has to approve of it first, and they never will, especially with support of gay marriage getting close to the 50% mark in Maine.

Take the Pledge
Protect Marriage for All Maine Families
Vote NO in November

This November, voters will be asked:

"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?"

Answer: Vote NO in November.

http://mainefreedomtomarry.com/

A key part of the fight is to make sure that everyone knows that the existing law in Maine will not require any individual or religious group to perform a same-sex marriage if they don't want to. The way this is worded can confuse people into thinking that they need to vote for this ballot to "keep their churches safe". Miserable fear-mongering bigots.

I cannot STAND fundies and homophobes. No matter what, they always find a way to fuck with us. t gets really damned old after a while. We need national marriage rights, so these assholes can just have to accept marriage equality the way the KKM assholes have had to accept racial equality.

You wonder, "Who are these people answering these polls?" No one in my family accepts calls from "unknown" except my mother, because she's afraid that one of us is standing at a telephone booth (she has no clue) in the middle of a warehouse district with a broken down car, a dead cell phone, and hyenas circling. Even she, who takes the call, hangs up once she realizes that the person on the other end has no business with her.

Who signs these petitions?

I see all the news about gays having the right to get married. Let me try to lay down something that can please both sides of this arguement...

It goes like this:

Marriage is a religious ritual preformed in front of god between one man and one woman.
These same religions say homosexuality is an abomination.
The government has the clause, "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
Therefore, the government cannot deny the rights of two individuals to enter into a civil union.
The civil union is legally identical to a marriage as far as taxes, insurance, hospital rights, and adoption is concerned.
The differences are that marriages are recognized by religion and state, while a civil union must be recognized by the state.
Marriages also have to be consummated, while a civil union does not require consummation.

As a heterosexual I feel this is an arrangement that both sides could come together on. I tried to take into account both side's views and what I believe to be equal rights for all involved. Let me know if I forgot something, or if something needs explanation.

Period.

It's a lot easier to remember . . .

The main thing is our civil rights are NOT states' rights. I am an adult American. I exercise my right to marry any other American. If the government decides who I can't marry then it effectively has decided who I can marry, and that's not the place of government in my life.

I would sooner give up my citizenship than my right to marry. It's just too bad that most of the U.S. is slow getting caught up to really real reality.

And since America is using the law to REMOVE rights and bring harm to some Americans, this American intends to lie, cheat, steal and break the law with no remorse until the law is remedied.

The advantage is truly on my side at the moment, if you ask the IRS.

Is that there are religions that preform and recognize marriages between people of the same gender. So fundamentalist religions or ones that believe the above (or for the matter: "These same religions say homosexuality is an abomination.") cannot infringe on the rights of the religions that do preform marriages between same gender partners and accept them into their places of worship.

that the word marriage is not owned by any religion and NO religious ritual legalizes a "Marriage". Marriage is a legal contract, with legal consequences. Without the recognition of the government there is no marriage. Straight couples who are married by a Judge are not considered to have a "civil union". They are married. See, no church still married.
I say revoke all religious sects from having the "power vested in"...them from any state to "legally marry" anyone. We take Civil "Marriage" and the homophobes take Sanctified "Marriage". If you want your marriage sanctified go to church, if you want it legalized you will have to be married by a representative of the government. True separation of Church and State.
If you truly believe that your marriage must be sanctified by your god then the extra expense is a small price to pay. Actually some Judges don't even charge for marriages so the cost of the church wedding is on you.

http://www.nj.gov/oag/dcr/downloads/1st-InterimReport-CURC.pdf

As for religion recognizing my marriage, my church does.

Isn't this in violation of the Portland Catholic Church's tax exemption status? When you google Mark Mutty he's listed as the Public Affairs Director for the church as well as the other organization listed above.

Plus the church itself is promoting this initiative - http://www.portlanddiocese.net/info.php?info_id=100124

Something doesn't seem right here. I spoke to my accountant and he told me to fill out this form to file a complaint with the IRS - http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf