AUGUSTA, Maine (ABP) — With its governor’s signature May 6, Maine became the fifth state in the nation — and the fourth in New England — to legalize same-sex marriage.
Gov. John Baldacci (D) signed the bill shortly after the Democrat-dominated state Senate followed the House’s lead in voting overwhelmingly for a bill that removes heterosexual-specific language from the state’s marriage code.
Baldacci, a Catholic, had previously stated his opposition to gay marriage. But, in a statement issued after he signed the bill, he said he had reconsidered his position.
“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” he said. “I have come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”
Citing equal-protection provisions in the the Maine Constitution, he said the bill simply enforced the document’s guarantees without endangering the religious freedom of those who oppose gay marriage.
“This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees,” he said. “It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government.”
Gay couples in Maine may have to wait a while to enjoy their newly recognized right. State law allows a “people’s veto,” or a referendum to ask voters if they’d like to overturn a law passed by legislators.
If opponents of same-sex marriage in Maine get a sufficient number of valid voters’ signatures within 90 days of the end of the Legislature’s session — expected in late June — then they can get the referendum on a statewide ballot for November at the earliest. The law would not be enforced until after the referendum.
Conservatives, led by the Maine Family Policy Council, have vowed to get the measure on the ballot. “Five citizens can take out a petition, and if they gather 60,000 signatures in 90 days, then there is automatically a statewide vote,” Michael Heath, the group’s director, told the conservative website OneNewsNow May 5. “And if the vote goes in favor of the veto, then the law is repealed."
Baldacci’s move came just a day after the District of Columbia Council voted to recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere and weeks after Vermont legislators overrode their governor’s veto to become the first state to legalize same-sex marriage through legislative, rather than judicial, means.
Same-sex marriage bills are poised for approval in two other Northeastern states — New Hampshire and New York. And the Iowa Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage there in April.
Massachusetts became the first state in the union to allow same-sex marriage in 2005. Gay-rights activists are pursuing a goal to legalize gay marriage throughout New England, where support for the concept is the nation’s most strongly concentrated. Besides Massachusetts and Vermont, it is already legal in Connecticut as well.
If New Hampshire approves gay marriage, then Rhode Island will be the region’s lone holdout on the issue. While polls show strong support for same-sex marriage there as in the rest of New England, Republican Gov. Donald Carcieri has vowed to veto any gay-marriage bill.
In New York, Democratic Gov. David Paterson is pushing for a gay-marriage bill. Although it is likely to pass the Empire State’s House of Representatives, its fate is unclear in the Senate.
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Robert Marus is managing editor and Washington bureau chief for Associated Baptist Press.
Related ABP stories:
D.C. Council gay-marriage vote could put issue before Congress (5/5)
Vermont first state to approve gay marriage legislatively (4/7)
Iowa Supreme Court says state cannot deny marriage to gays (4/3)