same-sex marriage

The Maine House of Representatives today voted (89-57) to enact L.D. 1020, also known as the Equal Marriage Act, which essentially would extend marriage rights to same-sex couples in the Pine Tree state.  Late last week the Maine Senate also passed the bill, and it is widely expected that Governor John Baldacci will sign it.

The only thing that can potentially stop same-sex marriage coming to Maine at this point is the "people's veto" - a Constitutional mechanism that allows the voters of the state to reject a law passed by the legislature.

This means that Maine is about to see a very "Proposition 8" style campaign come to their back yards, and are about to be inundated with commercials, phone calls, websites and door-knocking activists lobbying for a yes or no on a veto.

But more than that, for the first time in a long time, it will provide a chance to watch how a social wedge issue impacts politics in the northeast. 

For we "Civil Unions but not gay marriage" types, it would be helpful if there was a state by state collection of all the contractual obligations and rights of a marriage. This book of forms could easily be filled out by any two adults who wanted to choose to enjoy the set of legal adult to adult rights that goes along with marriage.

It would also be a good civil education project for learning / teaching what the implicit rights and duties of marriage are, and how they're duplicated explicitly by the Union Contract.

I agree that two adults who care about each other, and want to live together for the rest of their lives, should be able to fairly easily arrange their economic and care precedance affairs.

However, 'marriage' is primarily for children, followed by society, and only in third place for the couple.  I oppose legalization of gay adoption, and think that all children with a homosexual parent will be at a small disadvantage in life as compared to those with married natural parents.  If the children are raised by two same-sex parents, I'd suspect that they their disadvantage would be less than being raised by a single parent, which is also becoming all too prevalent.

I am especially afraid of gay marriage becoming the type of norm that allows Hate Speech laws to be used against any religion which preaches that homosexual sex is sinful / evil.

This is already happening in Europe.

Support for Civil Unions, as the non-children equivalent of marriage, seems the best long term position for Reps to take.  It's certainly best for me.