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Maine gay marriage law proposed
Hancock County senator to sponsor same-sex marriage bill
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE
Victoria Eleftheriou (left) and Carla Hopkins (right) of Mount Vernon,
with their son Eli, 3 1/2, listen to Maine Sen. Dennis Damon during a
press conference at the State House in Augusta Tuesday afternoon, Jan.
13, 2009. Sen. Damon introduced legislation to legalize gay marriage in
the state.
with their son Eli, 3 1/2, listen to Maine Sen. Dennis Damon during a
press conference at the State House in Augusta Tuesday afternoon, Jan.
13, 2009. Sen. Damon introduced legislation to legalize gay marriage in
the state.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE
Carla Hopkins holds the hand of her 3½-year-old son, Eli, who is in the
arms of her partner, Victoria Eleftheriou, as they listen to Maine Sen.
Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, during a press conference at the State House
in Augusta on Tuesday afternoon. Damon introduced legislation to
legalize gay marriage in the state.
arms of her partner, Victoria Eleftheriou, as they listen to Maine Sen.
Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, during a press conference at the State House
in Augusta on Tuesday afternoon. Damon introduced legislation to
legalize gay marriage in the state.
BANGOR DAILY NEWS PHOTO BY GABOR DEGRE
Michael Heath of the Maine Family Policy Council, formerly the
Christian Civic League of Maine, talks to the media after a press
conference announcing legislation to legalize gay marriage in Maine.
Heath said his group would oppose the bill and support efforts to
repeal it if it becomes law. Buy Photo
Christian Civic League of Maine, talks to the media after a press
conference announcing legislation to legalize gay marriage in Maine.
Heath said his group would oppose the bill and support efforts to
repeal it if it becomes law. Buy Photo
By Judy Harrison
BDN Staff
BDN Staff
AUGUSTA, Maine — A state senator from Hancock County is sponsoring a bill to allow same-sex couples to marry in Maine.
Sen. Dennis S. Damon, D-Trenton, announced at a press conference
Tuesday that he is submitting legislation to repeal the Defense of
Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. His
proposed bill, which has not yet been drafted, would include language
to allow “two persons to marry.”
Members of the Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition, composed of several
organizations, including Equality Maine, supported him. The coalition
also is partnering with the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to
Marry, which represents 140 clergy members from 14 religious
denominations.
“It is time to fully end discrimination here in Maine,” said Damon,
who is serving his last term in the Senate due to term limits. “With
our traditions of tolerance and fairness, Mainers want to make sure
that all couples are treated equally in the area of marriage. It is
especially important to us that the children of same-sex couples,
several of whom are with us here today, can be secure in the knowledge
that their parents are married, just like anybody else.”
Representatives of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland and the
Maine Family Policy Council, formerly the Christian Civic League of
Maine, said after the press conference that their organizations would
oppose the bill and support efforts to repeal it if it becomes law.
Gov. John Baldacci, in a statement issued shortly after the press
conference, said he would pay close attention to the debate but is not
yet prepared to support same-sex marriage. He did not indicate whether
he would sign or veto the bill if it passed.
Late last year, the Maine Marriage Alliance, headed by the Rev. Bob
Emrich of Palmyra, announced that it would spearhead an effort to pass
an amendment to the state Constitution that defines marriage as between
a man and a woman.
That proposal does not have a sponsor.
Gay marriage is being debated elsewhere in the region.
In New Hampshire, a bill has been submitted to replace the term
“civil union” with “marriage” in the state’s 1-year-old civil union
law. Vermont, the first state to recognize same-sex couples with its
civil unions law, now is likely to consider a gay marriage bill.
At the press conference in Augusta Tuesday, Damon was flanked by
same-sex couples who want to marry and obtain the same legal
protections afforded men and women who tie the knot in Maine.
The senator said that his bill would:
— Codify civil marriage as the legally recognized union of two people.
— Eliminate discrimination to allow any two eligible people, regardless of sex, to be issued an application for a marriage license.
— Affirm religious freedom so that religious institutions
continue to have control over their own religious doctrines and
teachings regarding who may marry within each faith as set forth in the
Maine and U.S. Constitutions.
— Recognize lawful marriages from other states, removing a barrier akin to those enacted to prohibit mixed-race marriages.
Victoria Eleftheriou and Carla Hopkins, both 37 and of Mount Vernon,
appeared with their 3½-year-old son, Eli Hopkins, at the press
conference in the Hall of Flags to support the bill and explain why
they want to marry.
“Victoria and I want to get married because we’re committed to
spending the rest of our lives together and we want our son to have the
legal security of having married parents,” Hopkins said. “Every day, we
worry that if something happens to one of us, the other person would
have a tough time providing for our son.”
Hopkins said that she and her partner recently asked their young son if they were married.
“He replied, ‘Yes, because you have rings,’” she said, adding that
they were exchanged seven years ago in a commitment ceremony that is
not legally binding in Maine. “We have rings, so in Eli’s world, we
must be married.”
Hopkins said she and Eleftheriou worry that when their son grows
older, if his parents still are not allowed to marry, he will think
that his family isn’t equal to his friends’ families that are headed by
heterosexual married couples.
The legal protections afforded married couples in Maine are included
in more than 400 state laws and more than a 1,000 federal laws,
according to Mary L. Bonauto, civil rights project director for Gay and
Lesbian Advocates and Defenders. She outlined some of the many legal
protections that married couples are entitled to under Maine law,
including recognition and support of the couple as an economic entity
for taxes, financial transactions and government benefits.
Many health insurance policies provide automatic coverage for
spouses, and that additional coverage is not considered taxable income,
a benefit not available to same-sex couples, Bonauto said. She also
described the strong safety net that exists for married couples that
protects a surviving partner and children when a spouse dies, in
everything from automatic rights to make funeral arrangements to
systems of workers’ compensation and disability benefits.
“The protections of marriage are embedded in many areas of Maine and
federal law,” Bonauto, who worked on the legal cases that brought
same-sex marriage to Massachusetts and Connecticut, said in a press
release. “There is no way to replicate them privately. And we need to
make sure these protections are available to gay and lesbian families
who are willing to take on the responsibilities of marriage.”
Michael Heath, head of the Maine Family Policy Council, who attended
the press conference as a spectator, said his organization and its
supporters would work to preserve traditional marriage. He said that
any bill proposing gay marriage should include a referendum provision.
Heath said gay marriage supporters are making a mistake running
their bill now, when so much else is at stake because of the recession
and state budget problems.
“What they suggest is a redefinition of marriage,” Marc Mutty,
director of public policy for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland
said after he watched the press conference. “To change the meaning of
marriage to add same-sex couples would open it up to all kinds of other
things.”
In his own statement, Gov. Baldacci said, “In the past, I have
opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions. I have
been a tireless defender of equal opportunity and have fought to end
discrimination in employment, housing and throughout society.
Unfortunately, there is no question that gay and lesbian people and
their families still face discrimination.
“This debate is extremely personal for many people,” he continued,
“and it's an issue that I struggle with trying to find the best path
forward.”
Referring to the state’s facing a more than $800 million budget
shortfall, the governor added, “Right now, I’m focused on creating jobs
and doing what I can to help our economy recover from an unprecedented
recession. We cannot allow ourselves to be divided or turned against
one another during this crisis.”
Responding to criticisms about the timing of the bill in light of the budget woes, Damon said the measure is “long overdue.”
“The breadth of support for this bill demonstrates that Mainers
value fairness,” Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil
Liberties Union, said Tuesday. Besides Equality Maine and the MCLU, the
Freedom to Marry Coalition also comprises the Gay and Lesbian Advocates
and Defenders, the Maine Women’s Lobby, Maine Children’s Alliance and
others.
“All loving, committed couples deserve the dignity and respect, as
well as the legal rights and obligations, that civil marriage brings,”
Bellows said.
Once the bill is drafted, it is expected to be referred to the
Judiciary Committee, which would hold a public hearing on the measure
later this session.
Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders have
announced its intention to secure same-sex marriage rights in all six
New England states by 2012. Massachusetts and Connecticut already
recognize same-sex marriages.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.