Maine Newspapers Agree: Let Gays Marry

In just over two weeks, voters will head to the polls in Maine and decide whether or not same-sex marriage will be allowed to stay legal in the state, or whether right-wing pundits and religious leaders will succeed in scaling back civil rights for gay and lesbian couples. The question voters will decide -- Question 1, officially -- asks Maine voters this:

Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?

The No on 1 campaign, which is leading the fight in the state to protect marriage equality, is doing a bang up job.  Through this week they were on television more than opponents, and have responded with amazing fundraising prowess (thanks to the netroots!). That's all the more important because in Maine, the official Roman Catholic Church has decided to make fighting gays and lesbians the bread and butter of their faith this year, donating hundreds of thousands of dollars to help pass the discriminatory ballot measure known as Question 1.

Poll numbers show a tight race, and that marriage equality advocates cannot let up (all the more so now that early voting has started).

One set of good news? Two major Maine newspapers have come out on behalf of equality. The first is the Bangor Daily News, one of the larger papers in the state. They have an absolute kick ass editorial this weekend on why Mainers should preserve the rights of gays and lesbians to marry. And the editorial delivers a sucker punch right into the mid-section of the Maine Catholic Church, which has tried to paint gays and lesbians as destabilizing threats to the common good. Check out the money line:

"The repeal effort has been led by the Roman Catholic Diocese. Bishop Richard Malone called same-sex marriage 'a dangerous sociological experiment.' The fact that gay couples have existed for generations — many of them raising children — counters this argument," the paper said. "Worse, however, is the church’s attempt to force its views on all Maine’s residents, whether they are Catholic or not."

The paper goes on to point out that Maine's governor who signed marriage equality into law, Gov. John Baldacci, is a Catholic. How's that for some equal rights irony?

The second paper this weekend to come out strongly on behalf of marriage equality in Maine is the Maine Sunday Telegram, Maine's statewide Sunday newspaper. And like raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, here are a few of our favorite things from this editorial:

• "Limiting marriage to a man and a woman would not make families led by same-sex couples go away. It would just keep them in a legally inferior position that is inconsistent with Maine's tradition of equal protection under the law."
• "[Marriage equality opponents] argue that extending the rights and responsibilities of civil marriage to families headed by same-sex couples would have broad effects throughout society. We have listened to their arguments, but we just don't buy them."
• "Families led by same-sex partners are here now. They are part of our communities and they need and deserve the legal protections – as well as the dignity – that comes with civil marriage status. Maine voters should recognize that even if their personal beliefs about marriage haven't changed, reality has. They should accept reality and vote "no" on Question 1."

Aren't those lines amazing? It's almost as if marriage equality advocates couldn't ask for better editorials. But then again, the editorials just reflect reality. And that reality is that opponents of marriage equality will go to any length and pursue any bogus argument to try and discriminate against gays and lesbians.

Maine's newspapers are starting to get that opponents of marriage equality don't have much to argue with other than hate. Here's hoping Maine voters think the same thing when they cast their ballots.