Get Out And Vote (No on 1!)

I know a majority of the folks who read this are fairly like-minded in terms of our social awareness and beliefs, so for any Maine residents out there reading this I implore you to hed to the polls Tuesday and vote no on Question one of the Maine ballot initiatives.  For those out of Maine or out of touch, if Question 1 is passed then the law previously passed by the Maine Legislature allowing same-sex marriage will be repealed.  A "NO" vote means that you support equality for all, you wish to give every resident the right to marry a person they love and care for, and that you want to see these relationships receive guaranteed equal protection under the law.

I don't have time to get into a lot of my own personal sentiments, and I apologize for that as this is an issue I have been meaning to get up in-depth even before I volunteered in Portland to canvas in support of the "No on 1" campaign this past Sunday morning.  This will be a very, very close race, as off year elections typically draw less than 20% of voters to the polls (Less than 20% is my number.  No on 1 quoted 16%.  Obscenely low to decide an issue of this magnitude, at any rate..).  The law passed by the legislature does not force clergymen and other religious folks with the power to perform marriages in religions who do not condone same sex marriage to perform same sex marriages.

This is strictly a civic issue, and if "separation of church and state" still carries any weight (I don't believe it ever really has, but that's another story..) then civic law needs to be viewed completely separate from religious doctrine.  The jokers out there who object because they don't want homosexuality to be taught in school...let me tell you something: homosexuality ALREADY IS TAUGHT IN SCHOOL, in that kids ask questions and teachers give answers.  Strong, same-sex relationships have existed, do exist, and will continue to exist in Maine regardless of whether this law is on the books, so these relationships will continue to come up in conversation of school-aged children and teenagers even if same-sex couples are not afforded equal protection under the law.  This "taught in school" argument is akin to if we decide to not teach about China in school because people don't believe in China's differing form of government (My analogy.  I first thought of France, but all I could come up with was "because France sucks" so I moved on.  Sorry for this interlude - this was not meant to diminish the impact the analogy was supposed to make.  Think about it, seriously..).  Really?  Ridiculous.

So please, please please: Maine residents get out to the polls today and vote NO on Question 1 to keep this law on the books and show that maybe Maine isn't actually the deep south of the far north, after all.  This needs to be viewed as a civic issue, and a civil issue, not a religious one.  Thanks for your time, see you at the polls.