Soapbox Derby: Legalizing Gay Marriage

Do you support legalizing gay marriage in Maine?

Scott K Fish

One woman and one man. For centuries that has been the definition of marriage. Jesus, in the New Testament Book of Mark, defines marriage, saying, “But from the beginning of the creation, male and female made he them. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh.”

In all of nonhuman nature—plants, fish, birds, animals—we see male/female joining, creating offspring. In the higher species we see male/female parents nourishing, raising, teaching their offspring.

All that, says the Gay Left, is old-fashioned. Really?

My friend Bob Emrich lives just up the road from me. Bob is pastor of Emmanuel Bible Baptist Church in Plymouth. He served several years as chief of staff for the Maine Senate Republicans in Augusta. Last week, driving through Plymouth, I saw Bob hauling lumber out of his church and tossing it into the back of his pickup.I stopped to speak with him about Sen. Dennis Damon’s LD 1020 “An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom,” asking if Bob saw it as a religious or a secular issue.

“Marriage was first,” Bob said. “Then religion recognized its value to society. Then government recognized its value to society. Neither invented it. Both see the value and so consequently promote it for similar but different reasons. But it is not ‘owned’ by either.”

Bob points out that Senator Damon’s bill turns Maine marriages gender-neutral. Here, from Damon’s bill, is how marriage is defined: “Marriage is the legally recognized union of two people. Gender-specific terms relating to the marital relationship or familial relationships, including, but not limited to, ‘spouse,’ ‘family,’ ‘marriage,’ ‘immediate family,’ ‘dependent,’ ‘next of kin,’ ‘bride,’ ‘groom,’ ‘husband,’ ‘wife,’ ‘widow,’ and ‘widower,’ must be construed to be gender-neutral for all purposes throughout the law . . .”

There are spirited debates on same-sex marriage on asmainegoes.com. Proponents refuse to so much as consider the negative effects of same-sex marriage on children. They also refuse to consider, as one legislator said, “the next domino to fall.” That tells me the Gay Left is either careless, selfish, or lying. If Damon’s bill becomes law, what do we say to future special interest groups insisting Maine’s elastic legal definition of marriage include polygamy? If marriage is fine for any two people, regardless of gender, why not any three people? Or more? What will be the legal argument against legalizing any marriage arrangement?

The Gay Left would have us believe that LD 1020 is a societal step forward. A human advancement. Nonsense. If the Gay Left succeeds in altering the definition of marriage from its traditional one woman/one man meaning, then marriage will be forever redefined at the whim of the government majority and powerful special interests. Marriage won’t just be changed, it will be dead.

Sean Faircloth

The Iowa Supreme Court unanimously struck down their state law restricting marriage to heterosexuals only. Take a moment. Think about that. Sure, courts made similar decisions in Massachusetts and Connecticut—but Iowa? Unanimously?

This culture war isn’t over, but you can see “over” from here. Don’t believe it? Take a look back: Jim Martin organized a gay pride parade in Bangor in the mid-1990s. Legislators were invited from all over. I was the only sitting legislator to march in that parade. Now Jim, a thoughtful legislator, represents my old district and focuses largely on economic development for our area.

I served 10 years in Augusta, six on the Judiciary Committee. I remember a public hearing in the mid-’90s regarding discrimination based on sexual orientation. The Augusta Civic Center was packed—perhaps a larger crowd than attended the gay marriage hearing April 22, 2009. One big difference: In the ‘90s the crowd was about equally divided between those who wanted to treat gay people fairly and those who thought discrimination acceptable. The hostility was open and scary. Most Maine politicians either: a) supported discrimination or b) kept mum.

On April 22, the strong majority of the crowd favored marriage equality. Most Democratic politicians (and numerous Republicans) were eager to voice support. Politicians don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Young people support gay marriage. Want to guess how this plays out?

In 1967, state laws prohibited interracial marriage. Sounds vicious and old-fashioned today. In 2025, politicians who supported marriage discrimination in 2009 will look embarrassingly antiquated.

The more important reason to support gay marriage brings us back to Iowa’s court. It doesn’t matter if 1% or 100% of the population supports marriage equality: It’s a constitutional right.

Maine’s current law, restricting marriage to heterosexuals, violates the 14th Amendment Equal Protection Clause. That IS the law of our Constitution and Maine’s current law IS invalid. It’s illegal and, yes, immoral to deny gay citizens constitutional rights—regardless of polls in 2009 or 1969.

The rights of African Americans were always clear in the 14th Amendment; it was the courts that failed Americans by not acknowledging those rights promptly. The same holds true for gay citizens. A constitutional right to marriage equality already exists. Eventually, the Supreme Court will recognize this already-existing constitutional right as fact just as it recognized rights for African Americans (decades late)—and just as the Iowa Court unanimously held.

But why wait?

The Maine Legislature can, by statute, end marital discrimination. Legislators are sworn to uphold our Constitution. Now is their chance to fulfill that oath. Some say Maine isn’t “ready” to treat gay people equally. When I was a kid, Spain, one of the world’s most Catholic nations, was led by a vicious right-wing militarist who was Hitler’s last surviving ally. Yet, Spain in 2005 allowed for marriage equality for all its citizens. Spain is a much stronger country, not a weaker one, because it now stands for justice. Maine is ready.