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MsTinkerbelly · 02-27-2012, 01:45 PM

Marriage equality ballot initiative approved in Maine
By Jacob Combs

It’s official: marriage is going to be on the ballot this November in Maine. Bloomberg reports:

Secretary of State Charles E. Summers Jr. verified more than 85,000 of the 105,000 signatures submitted last month, said Barbara Redmond, his deputy secretary. About 57,000 names were required, according to EqualityMaine, the Portland-based gay- rights group leading the coalition that collected them.

“Same-sex couples want to marry for the same reasons other couples want to marry: because they love each other and want to spend their lives together,” Betsy Smith, EqualityMaine’s executive director, said in a statement. “There’s no question that momentum is growing for same-sex marriage in Maine.”

It will be the second time Mainers confront the issue at the ballot box. In 2009, voters rejected by 53 percent to 47 percent a law permitting gay marriage that was championed by Democratic lawmakers and signed by then-Governor John Baldacci, also a Democrat. In 2010, Republicans won control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s seat for the first time since 1966.

If the measure passed, Maine would become the first state (or one of the first, depending on what happens on election day in other states) to approve marriage equality in a popular vote. Advocates will spend the next nine months educating Maine voters and building momentum on the road to election day

02-27-2012, 01:45 PM	#926
MsTinkerbelly Timed Out - TOS Drama How Do You Identify?: ... Preferred Pronoun?: ... Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: ... Posts: 6,573 My Photo Gallery Thanks: 30,737 Thanked 22,908 Times in 5,019 Posts Rep Power: 0	Prop 8 Blog...good luck Maine! Marriage equality ballot initiative approved in Maine By Jacob Combs It’s official: marriage is going to be on the ballot this November in Maine. Bloomberg reports: Secretary of State Charles E. Summers Jr. verified more than 85,000 of the 105,000 signatures submitted last month, said Barbara Redmond, his deputy secretary. About 57,000 names were required, according to EqualityMaine, the Portland-based gay- rights group leading the coalition that collected them. “Same-sex couples want to marry for the same reasons other couples want to marry: because they love each other and want to spend their lives together,” Betsy Smith, EqualityMaine’s executive director, said in a statement. “There’s no question that momentum is growing for same-sex marriage in Maine.” It will be the second time Mainers confront the issue at the ballot box. In 2009, voters rejected by 53 percent to 47 percent a law permitting gay marriage that was championed by Democratic lawmakers and signed by then-Governor John Baldacci, also a Democrat. In 2010, Republicans won control of both legislative chambers and the governor’s seat for the first time since 1966. If the measure passed, Maine would become the first state (or one of the first, depending on what happens on election day in other states) to approve marriage equality in a popular vote. Advocates will spend the next nine months educating Maine voters and building momentum on the road to election day