Well, as we expected would happen, another U.S. state has succumbed to the
agenda of gay and lesbian militants. New Hampshire is now in the balances,
and may fall next. Here is another article from the New York Times:


Maine Governor Signs Same-Sex Marriage Bill

By ABBY GOODNOUGH - NYT

May 6, 2009


BOSTON -- Gov. John Baldacci of Maine signed a same-sex marriage bill on
Wednesday minutes after the Legislature sent it to his desk, saying he had
reversed his position because gay couples were entitled to the state
Constitution's equal rights protections.

"It's not the way I was raised and it's not the way that I am," Mr.
Baldacci, a Democrat, said in a telephone interview. "But at the same time I
have a responsibility to uphold the Constitution. That's my job, and you
can't allow discrimination to stand when it's raised to your level."

Yet gay couples may not be able to wed in Maine anytime soon. Laws typically
go into effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns, which is usually in
late June. But opponents have vowed to pursue a "people's veto,"
or a public
referendum, in which Maine voters could overturn the law.

The opponents would be required to collect about 55,000 signatures within 90
days of the Legislature's adjourning to get a referendum question on the
ballot. If they succeeded, the law would be suspended until a vote could be
held. Depending on how soon signatures were collected, that would be in
November or the following June.

The Rev. Bob Emrich, a leader of the Maine Marriage Alliance, one of the
chief opposition groups, said he believed the law would be overturned but
not without an intensive campaign.

"It's not automatic by any means," Mr. Emrich said. "The proponents of
changing the law and redefining marriage, they are very well funded, they
have a great organization, and they've been at this a long time."

Maine is the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage, and the bill's
enactment comes almost five years after Massachusetts became the first in
the nation to do so. The other states are Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont.

The New Hampshire legislature gave final passage on Wednesday to a same-sex
marriage bill, but Gov. John Lynch has not said if he will sign it. Mr.
Lynch, a centrist Democrat, has said in the past that marriage should be
limited to a man and a woman. Once the bill reaches his desk, he will have
five days to act on it.

Mr. Baldacci announced his decision in Augusta, Me., about an hour after the
State Senate gave final passage to the bill, which codifies marriage as a
legally recognized union between two people regardless of sex. Under state
law, the governor had 10 days to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law
without his signature.

But Mr. Baldacci, who cannot seek re-election because of term limits, said
he had spent considerable time researching the legal ramifications of
denying gay men and lesbians the right to marry.

Mr. Baldacci earlier supported civil unions for gay couples, which are
legally recognized and provide many of the state rights and privileges that
marriage does. Civil unions are legal in New Jersey, Connecticut and
Vermont, but the latter two states are phasing them out after adopting
same-sex marriage laws.

Since Vermont became the first state to allow civil unions in 2000,
gay-rights supporters have increasingly said they relegate same-sex couples
to a separate and unequal category.

Mr. Baldacci said his past opposition to same-sex marriage stemmed from his
Roman Catholic upbringing. Exploring his feelings on the matter -- and
listening to those of other Maine residents -- was, he said, "very
emotional, very much a sort of baring of the soul that you're listening to
and going through yourself."

He described voters as "the ultimate political power in this state," and
said it was important for them to weigh in, too.

"I think they will see the reasoning that I had in regards to the
issue," he
said, "but it's their right to put their stamp on it."


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