Maine
TAKE ACTION
Work continues in Maine to end the exclusion of gay couples from marriage. Efforts are currently underway to gather signatures to return to the ballot in November 2012. The most important action to take is to talk to friends and family about why marriage is important to all families in Maine and across the country. A conversation has the power to change hearts and minds. Click here and join the public education campaign in Maine today!
HISTORY
On May 6, 2009, Maine's Governor John Baldacci signed into law a freedom to marry bill overwhelmingly approved by the Senate and House. Despite citizens and representatives from across Maine standing up in favor of the marriage bill, following the bill’s passage, anti-gay forces spent millions of dollars to gather signatures and mount an attack campaign to put a referendum on the November ballot.
Even though a strong grassroots effort worked hard in Maine, the attack campaign by anti-gay forces just barely overturned Maine’s law supporting the freedom to marry for gay couples. Some domestic partnership protections remain in place since they were enacted in 2004.
Status: Some Protections for Couples, Anti-Marriage Law
Groups Actively Working on Marriage
Equality Maine: the primary statewide organization working to win the freedom to marry for same-sex couples
Freedom to Marry: is the campaign to win marriage for same-sex couples nationwide.
Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders: New England's leading legal rights organization dedicated to ending discrimination based on sexual orientation, HIV status and gender identity and expression
Why Marriage Matters Maine: Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) and EqualityMaine partnered to create this website to share the personal stories of real Mainers and demonstrate what marriage means to them.
Blog Posts Related to Maine
Thousands of Mainers ask Senator Collins to cosponsor the Respect for Marriage Act
Today, Freedom to Marry, EqualityMaine, Courage Campaign, GLAD, Maine Women's Lobby and the ACLU of Maine hand delivered over 2,300 signatures from Senator Susan Collins' constituents asking her to cosponsor the Respect for Marriage Act.
Senators Lieberman and Collins: It’s time to repeal DOMA
Freedom to Marry is joining with six state and national organizations to call on Senator Lieberman (I-CT) and Senator Collins (R-ME) to cosponsor the Respect for Marriage Act.
Maine marriage advocates use election day to collect signatures to restore marriage
Equality Maine and its volunteers collect more than 35,000 signatures to repeal the state's marriage ban.
Resources Related to Maine
Party Principles: Support for the Freedom to Marry by State and National Political Parties
A listing of both state and national political parties that have made strong statements in support of the freedom to marry.
Moving the Middle on Marriage: Lessons from Maine and Washington
If advocates can successfully tap into the true spirit of marriage and convince the middle that gay couples want to get married for the same reasons that straight couples do, we think we will be able to address the middle’s remaining concerns and help move that group, and the country, more quickly towards support for marriage.
Study: Fiscal Impact of Marriage Equality in Maine
Maine would gain approximately $7.9 million each year if marriage is extended to same-sex couples.