Bangor Daily News Endorses Gay Marriage

With the Christianists and professional Christian set - many of whom like Maggie Gallagher make very nice livings off of bigotry - working to role back legislatively enacted same sex marriage in Maine, the Bangor Daily News - one of the state's largest papers - has an editorial today urging voters to defeat the repeal effort. The issue of same sex marriage truly comes down to the question of whether one set of religious beliefs will dictate the substance of the civil laws. With more religious denominations accepting gay relationships, laws like this repeal effort strip away the religious freedom of non-homophobes. The Maggie Gallaghers of the world will bloviate about many reasons for opposing same sex marriage, but it comes down to one issue: they want to force all in society to accept their religious beliefs on marriage. Here are highlights from the Bangor Daily News column:

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Mainers have heard a lot in recent weeks about the consequences of allowing same-sex couples to marry, some of it accurate, some of it not. While such debate is healthy, this question boils down to a simple point: Everyone must be treated equally under the state and U.S. Constitution. Denying civil marriage rights to same-sex couples violates that tenet.

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Further, extending the right of marriage to a small segment of the population that has been excluded furthers the state’s interest in promoting stable families and communities. The Maine legislation also took important steps, mirroring the state’s Human Rights Law, to respect religious freedom and traditions. No church will be compelled to perform or recognize marriages that run counter to its faith. This strikes the difficult balance of respecting religious freedom while ensuring equality.

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Repealing this law would move the state backward while denying guaranteed rights to a small minority. 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. Worse, however, is the church’s attempt to force its views on all Maine’s residents, whether they are Catholic or not.

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It is only natural that changing the definition of something as fundamental as marriage makes some uncomfortable. However, marriage has changed over time — interracial marriages were once banned, and men were allowed to have many wives — without harming heterosexual marriages. In a country where the divorce rate is too high and too many children grow up in dysfunctional and abusive families, encouraging more adults to commit to long-term, loving relationships is a positive, not a negative.

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As for education, children are already being raised by gay couples. Those children attend our schools, and have for decades. If Sally’s two dads come to an elementary school awards night, or if Billy’s two moms come to the school concert, the relationships may become a topic of discussion at school the next day. Whether Sally’s or Billy’s same-sex parents are married or living together does not change the discussion . . .

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Voting no on Question 1 will reiterate Maine’s commitment to equality and acceptance of families of all types while respecting religious traditions and beliefs.