It is the position of this newspaper that the current same sex marriage debate is a divisive battle of semantics.
While we respect leaders, even those we disagree with, we really think the legislature dropped the ball.
Same sex marriage was hardly a pressing issue for the majority of Mainers, although we concede it is vitally important to those who, pardon the phrase, are intimately concerned with the issue.
Maine already has a legal status for committed non-married couples called a domestic partnership.
This should have been a simple matter of extending recognition and legal protections to same sex couples. The legislature should have adopted some legislation to extend all legal rights, benefits, protections, recognitions and status accorded to the legal state of marriage to those in domestic partnerships.
Insofar as marriages, domestic partnerships, civil unions, what have you, are a recognized legal contract by the state, that should have been sufficient. It was taking the step beyond, trying to force a cultural change where the legislators erred.
We fully and without reservation embrace the freedoms granted to all Americans by the Bill of Rights. We strongly believe that all individuals have the right to pursue life, liberty and happiness in the fashion of their choosing and we honor that right even when that pursuit includes private, legal activities upon which we personally disagree.
We feel the institution of marriage is an institution to be respected. While we recognize the wishes of a minority should be considered, we strongly feel the wishes of the majority to preserve a tradition that extends back millennia should likewise be respected.
