Maine Voters Refuse to Sign Anti-Gay Ballot Petition
The organization spearheading Maine’s recent anti-gay referenda withdrew its most recent petition effort when state primary voters refused to sign the petition in sufficient numbers.
The measure would have eliminated sexual orientation from the non-discrimination law, reversed GLAD’s 2007 judicial victory on co-parent adoptions, created more anti-gay policies on marriage and civil unions, and eliminated civil rights teams in public schools. GLAD led the legal effort on behalf of coalition partners to ensure the petition told the truth to voters about what it would do if passed. With several detailed letters to the Maine Secretary of State about the Secretary’s obligations to ensure accuracy, GLAD and the coalition persuaded the Secretary to change the title, summary and portions of the proposed law. While the group initially called its measure “An Act to Define Marriage, Preserve Equality and Eliminate Special Rights for Homosexuality,” the final title was the one voters couldn’t swallow: “An Act to Remove Protections Based on Sexual Orientation From the Maine Human Rights Act, Eliminate Funding of Civil Rights Teams in Public Schools, Prohibit Adoptions by Unmarried Couples, Add A Definition of Marriage, and Declare Civil Unions Unlawful.”
Congratulations to Maine voters, our coalition partners EqualityMaine, Maine Civil Liberties Union, and Maine Women’s Lobby, and to Attorney Patricia Peard at Bernstein Shur and Catherine Connors at Pierce Atwood LLP.
Read the coalition letters sent to Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap: