See that picture right there? That's how my heart felt this morning when I woke up to discover that fifty-three percent of Maine voters chose to repeal a law legalizing gay marriage. To hear the chief organizer of Stand For Marriage say that the "institution of marriage has been preserved in Maine and across the nation" just makes my stomach drop.
As soon as this sadness clears, I know I'm going to be pissed off. Pissed off for the couples who had set their wedding dates, expecting to celebrate a victory for our side. Pissed off for what this says about our nation, when another state just openly rejected equality for all. I can already feel the anger bubbling up inside of me, so watch out for me today. I might snap.
– Dewitt
Terribly sad day. Next best plan is to make this an issue at federal level and stop with the meaningless state battles, in which straights get to decide on how much rights gays are allowed.
wha wha wha… so what? its just a wedding ceremony. if they love each other that’s all that matters. i’m well aware of the tax benefits, the health reasons, and all the other goodys that come along with being married but in the end, its just not a battle i see being worth fighting for. if 53% of people don’t want gays to marry, that’s the majority and that’s their choice. gotta love democracy!
Jace, you’re clearly a moron. Did you people voting on wheter interacial couples could marry in the 50’s? If they had it would have been the same result. That’s why I agree with Alex, we have to fight this nationally.
Also, we know the old generation is still around. Honestly, give it a decade where enough of the old people have died and we can overcome the small gap…
Jace,
I think you’re incredibly misguided. Beyond the “goodys” that come with marriage, this is a civil rights issue. If the majority were allowed to decide the lifestyles of others, interracial marriages would still be illegal and african americans would still be second class citizens, if they were considered citizens at all. The majority is often ill-informed and afraid of change. So while you don’t see marriage as a battle worth fighting for, there are millions of homosexuals that would love the option. Maybe once you fall in love or get in a relationship, you’ll understand.
Dewitt, you guys calculate which of your posts are most popular. Look back over the ones that you all have posted that cover issues of substance (such as this) vs those about Lady Gaga or dick size. I’m cool with all of them, but you’ll notice a trend – we really don’t care a whole lot about things like marriage equality, the right to be out in the military, hate crimes or whatever. Ok, we care, but not as much as we do about getting laid.
And that’s the problem. These fundamentalist Christians do care. And they’ll do whatever they need to do to win. Both gay rights activists and fundamentalist activists are actually rather small segments of the population. And right now, they just want it more than we do. In the midst of our anger, we at least have to own that.
Jace does have a point, somewhat. “Marriage” is just a term; it’s the act that’s important. Civil unions seem to be more agreeable to the electorate, and if done right would offer the same benefits as marriage, just without the religious baggage of the term “marriage.” Why the state chooses to get involved at all is beyond me, since marriage is a religious ceremony.
Jace, you are such a moron.
I wont waste my time elaborating with you how stupid your comment was…
People like YOU helped the votes in Maine… Congrats on your victory 😀
Not until ALL men (and women) are equal under the eyes of the law will this country be a true democracy.
As for marriage vs. civil unions, they are not the same in the eyes of the law. There remain vast differences and inequalities.
What is this “institution” that needs preserving and protecting in the first place? How do two men or two women getting married adversely affect a single heterosexual couple in any way? I have yet to get one valid, factual response from ANYONE who is asked that question.
Since I only receive 3/4 the rights of a heterosexual, shouldn’t I only have to pay 3/4 of the taxes as them? This is a good arguement for the taxation without representation issue.
Boycott POLAND SPRING water! = )
it is so so sad that in America you have all these crazy Christian fundamentalists who dont see that denying gay couples the right to marry or join in civil partnership is a breach of their human rights. In many ways Europe is miles away from America in personal freedoms. Very sad what happened in Maine.
This kind of reminds me of what happened in the late 70s with the Briggs Initiative and legislation like it all over the country. We need to get angry again and do something about it. I don’t think the solution is in fighting state by state, this is a civil rights issue that extends nationwide and there should be constitutional legislation that says it is wrong to deny same-sex couples marriage licenses through the state.
Words leave me as I read this. I saw the commercials that were posted on this blog and they were great. It saddens me that a people of a state can decides someone fate without knowing them. I think if they saw first hand the descrimintion that we face day to day, they would understand.
Let their husband or wife be in the hospital in critical condition and they be refused to see them cause they are not family in the eyes of the law. Or let that person pass away and te living partner loose their house or car cause the court won’t reconlgnize the will as being valid or the family contests it.
It’s not just about love. It’s about our rights. America claims to be a “free” nation but I’ve yet to see Gay Americans be “free” to love who they want to.
I doubt it if Jace had anything to do with with the vote in Maine. He is entitled to his opinion..Guys, it’s called push back…Maine pushed back, the liberal state of California pushed back…I’ve said in previous post that when you force an issue as gay marriage on the general populace they will push back…We will get the right to marriage, for those who want that or for those who need that. Yes, the nation as a whole may be becoming a little more tolerant, but this will take time and will not happen over night. This will be a marathon not a sprint.
I also don’t think that waiting for the older people to die off so that younger people will be the only ones left to make decisions that affect us all is a statment that anyone should make because those older people raise younger ones with the same beliefs and opinions, (has anyone come across a twenty-something skinhead lately)they do exsist.
Federally the same thing could happen. So don’t say that we need to force the issue nationally. When the Obama administration repeals DOMA is doen’t mean that suddenly everything will be better. Recently a judge in Louisiana rejected a interracial couple not granting them a marriage license because he felt the children that the couple MIGHT have would suffer. WTF!!!!…Now a majority of Americans are mixed with something when you really think about it….There aren’t many people in this country that are pure anything, but you still have those people who believe that you shouldn’t have the same rights as they do.
That may not change for a very long time….and no I’m not saying give up…I’m saying rethink.
100% agree with Alex…
We have allowed the fed government to sidestep this issue…it should not be in the hands of the states, where 50 battles have to be won…that’s BS…it is just something to keep us busy and spending tons of money for nothing!
Equality is universal…same sex marriage should be a federal issue, not civil unions…that’s another BS term to quiet the Fundamentalists
“marriage” is not so much a religious ceremony, it is a contract with the state that religions sanction…therefore I can not believe that religion should be involved…it is a CONTRACT with the STATE not with the churches.
Those of you that think the federal government are going to save us are fooling yourselves. It was liberal state governments that first established marriage equality laws not the federal government.
Don’t ask don’t tell — Federal government.
If you really want to change things you need to make sure that your friends and neighbors know that they have rights that you do not. While many American’s might be willing to say that marriage is the sacred union (as they watch the bachelor and wife swap) of a man and a women, few would say that I need to sit in the waiting room while doctors and HMOs decide what will happen to my ailing partner.
If Americans see us a real people who are hurting as a result of there actions I believe they will be shamed into doing the right thing. But that can only happen in an intensely personal one-state at a time kind of way.
Roger has the right idea but I fear he has it backwards. Marriage IS a religious ceremony which the government has gotten in bed with. If straight couple had a church wedding followed by a separate trip to the court house to register as domestic partners a lot of problems would be solved
Well, I, for one, am one former maine citizen who is both ashamed and not suprised by the results, sadly. It doesn’t suprise me that Portland’s majority voted for gay marriage and the rest of the state voted against gay marriage. Sadly, for as forward thinking and idealistic the government of Maine seems to be, the people of Maine are not.
Well I appriciate being called a moron. And no, I’m not from Maine and I actually have never been there. I didn’t have anything to do with the vote. And to the person that said that maybe once I fall in love or find a relationship, my boyfriend and I have been together for six years. We have never talked or thought about marriage because in our eyes, we are married. We don’t need a ceremony or the governments approval or anything like that for us to know how we feel about each other. We’re happy just the way we are.
Getting married is NOT a right. And since there are millions of homosexuals that want gay marriage to pass my thoughts shouldn’t bother you at all. I’m just one.
For the majority of posters on a here…a few comments…first of all boycotting Poland Springs water just stupid…gets you nowhere. Secondly the repeal effort in Maine was pushed mostly by the Catholic church this time. If you did see the ads they ran they were nothing but scare tactics. Our ads were tasteful and used real people in them, not soundbites, actors or people with religious agendas to hide behind ‘facts’.
I am disappointed and mad about the outcome since I thought we would get this one. Im not surprised by the breakdown of numbers though. A lot of the areas of Maine that passed the repeal were mostly rural, and not to generalize here but, are populated by ‘uneducated’ people. By uneducated, Im talking people that dont know any better from how they have been raised or how they have lived their entire lives.
We will have our day…maybe not tomorrow or the day after that…but our time will come.
Jace, you and your boyfriend may consider yourselves married…and that’s great…I had the same situation for 11 years…the problem is that your government doesn’t…and hopefully you and your boyfriend will stay in your relationship for the rest of your lives…
That is where the problems come in…rights to each other’s lives if problems arise…insurance, health and life, medical problems that the one not personally affected can be left out of…property rights, retirements, social security…on and on…
If I ever make a commitement to someone again…it wouldn’t involved a church wedding, but I would want my rights and those of my husband (not boyfriend) protected!
Once again, the popular votes of the people, and not the courts have spoken. Maine is in lockstep with the 30 or so States who have already voted that they are not ready for gay marriage. That isn’t to say it will never happen…I believe it will, someday.
When a right takes on the appearance of a political agenda, and gets shoved down the throats of the public, voters will act…or as in all cases, react.
The gay community may counter through its own anger by continuing with the “bullying”. But let’s not put the cart before the horse. Until the majority of Americans are ready to accept even the simplest ideas of same-sex relationships, they will see this as yet another act of arrogance by another special interest group.
Apparently, the “fuck you” attitude of gay marriage proponents who wish to bypass the States by taking it to the Federal level will do us no favors. Voters will see this as yet another arrogant tactic, and will only draw increased attention/funding to anti-gay groups. Frankly, I would rather not have our gay communities once again be defined through video footage of gay pride parades, and prancing half-naked guys in leather aired on tv and funded by conservative groups and anti-gay marriage groups.
Yes, the ugly battle will continue, but like it or not, we do need the support of the majority of Americans first. Time for a new strategy, guys.