Of the 63 lawmakers who have vowed support for a bill to allow same-sex marriage in Maine, Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess of Cumberland stands in a category of her own. She’s the only Republican.
The bill, which is sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, achieved a milestone Thursday when the deadline passed for legislators to sign on as sponsors. Strang Burgess said she didn’t know she’d be the lone GOP sponsor.
“I didn’t expect to be the only Republican, but I’m OK with it,” she said. “I think I’ll have a lot more company when it’s time for votes.”
The second-term representative said she mulled the issue over a period of weeks, but it was a constituent and neighbor, Pat Dillenback of Cumberland, who provided the push she needed.
“I don’t really know (Strang Burgess) very well, but I’ve always admired her,” said Dillenback. “I don’t think this is going to be an easy task for her. Being right sometimes is very, very difficult.”
Defining what’s “right” as it relates to the legal definition of marriage will guide what promises to be an intense debate. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee has scheduled a public hearing on LD 1020, “An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom” on April 24 at Cony High School in Augusta.
The bill would make Maine the third state – after Massachusetts and Connecticut – to extend the rights and protections of marriage to same-sex couples. It also would preserve the right for religious institutions to maintain their doctrines and teachings regarding who can marry. The bill seeks to put the question to a statewide vote during the November election.
The federal government does not recognize same-sex marriage. Other states, including Vermont, are considering proposals to extend legal marriage rights to same-gender couples.
Damon said he didn’t actively seek sponsors.
“There are all kinds of reasons not to sign, so I didn’t pressure anyone,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people, including some in my own caucus, who are very concerned about it.”
Damon said he has received approximately 1600 letters, calls and e-mails in addition to more than 3000 “fans” and “supporters” on Facebook, a social networking Web site where at least three pages have been created around the bill, including one that opposes it.
Damon estimates that more than 90 percent of the messages he’s seen are supportive, but he doesn’t predict that percentage in the Legislature.
He expects the margin in both chambers to be narrow, particularly in the Senate where he said there are a handful of Democrats unsure of how they will vote. Assistant Majority Leader Lisa Marrache, D-Waterville, is one of them.
“I don’t know where I’m at,” said Marrache. “I’ve gotten a lot of notes and letters and I’m waiting to see what I hear from my legislative district.”
Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, agreed. “I’m undecided right now,” he said. “I’ve got to hear from my constituents.”
There is some support among Senate Republicans who might be crucial if too many Democrats reject the idea. Sen. Peter Mills, R-Cornville, said Monday that he’ll likely vote in favor of the bill and knows at least one other Republican senator who will, too.
“It’s not an issue that the Legislature should decide,” said Mills. “This is for the Maine people to decide and I don’t think the Legislature should spend a lot of time on it.”
Sen. Stan Gerzofsky, D-Brunswick, said he’s a firm supporter because he sees this as a discrimination issue.
“Anyone who grew up in the 1960s knows what discrimination is about,” he said. “We’ve come a long way in the last 30 or 40 years.”
Dillenback, whose phone call led to Strang Burgess’s sponsorship of the bill, said for her it’s an issue of simplicity.
“The world has so many problems that same-sex marriage shouldn’t even be on the radar screen,” she said. “I don’t think there should be a law against love.”
Rep. Charles Priest, D-Brunswick, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said he expects hundreds, if not thousands, of people at the public hearing in April.
“Everyone who wants to will have an opportunity to speak,” he said.
(Statehouse News Service)
