PORTLAND, Maine — Members of the hit indie pop band fun. and Hollywood star Brad Pitt added star power to the campaign for same-sex marriage Wednesday, playing a promotional Portland concert and advocating for a “Yes on 1” vote less than a week before Mainers go to the polls to decide on the controversial referendum.
The band’s arrival in Maine’s largest city came the same day as A-list actor Pitt announced a $100,000 donation to same-sex marriage campaigns in four states, including Maine’s, highlighting the final publicity push for “Yes on 1” advocates approaching Election Day. The two headline-grabbing moments also come on the heels of recent efforts by opponents of Question 1 to amplify their own message with high-profile statements and events.
Former Christian Civic League head and long-time same-sex marriage opponent Michael Heath was among those who turned up the heat on Monday during a rally at the State House in Augusta, calling same-sex marriage “intrinsically harmful and evil.” That followed a declaration last week by Bishop Richard Malone, recently of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Maine, that a “Yes” vote on Question 1 is “unfaithful to the Catholic doctrine,” his most forceful words of opposition yet.
But celebrity same-sex marriage supporters Wednesday urged Mainers to think of Tuesday’s vote as a chance to end discrimination against gays and lesbians. In an email to members of the Human Rights Campaign, a top nationwide GLBT advocacy group, Pitt said he made his donation in part so he wouldn’t have regrets after Election Day — and he said voters should be similarly motivated in the days ahead.
“It’s unbelievable to me that people’s lives and relationships are literally being voted on in a matter of days,” wrote Pitt. “If you’re like me, you don’t want to have to ask yourself on the day after the election, what else could I have done?”
Jack Antonoff, guitarist of fun., echoed that sentiment when talking to reporters in Portland before his band’s sold-out concert, which was scheduled for an 8 p.m. start at The State Theatre. The three-member New York City-based band is best known for two top-five platinum singles. “We Are Young” and “Some Night.”
Antonoff said all three band members are straight, and said no managers or marketers have tried to temper their outspoken stance supporting gay rights.
“It’s not so much people telling us not to do things, but we ask a lot of the organizations we work with, the people we work with, the people who work with us, the bands we tour with — everybody — [to be supportive]. It’s not something we want to be shy about,” Antonoff told the Bangor Daily News. “Sometimes people get a little bit timid.
“But I tell the story of my grandfather,” he continued. “He marched with Martin Luther King, and how amazing is that for him to be able to tell his grandkids [about that]? What was that like when African-Americans had less rights? [My grandfather can say] ‘It was horrible, and I was right there fighting against it.’ And we all know where this is heading. It may be uncomfortable to be in challenging situations, but do you want to stand on the right side of history or, years from now, look at your grandkids and say, ‘It was terrible, and I didn’t do as much as I could have.’”
Antonoff said he isn’t trying to change the minds of ardent same-sex marriage opponents, but rather motivate Mainers who are leaning toward a “Yes” vote to be more active.
“It’s really about all those who have their heads and hearts in the right place, but aren’t speaking up,” he said.
Matt McTighe, chairman for the same-sex marriage campaign “Mainers United for Marriage,” said the advocacy of pop stars like fun. help highlight the issue — and the importance of voting on it — for a younger audience.
“I think it just calls attention to the fact that there is an election coming up, and there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done,” McTighe said Wednesday at The State Theatre. “A lot of younger voters may not be thinking about that — they may be thinking about other things, like getting back to school. But this calls attention to the fact that we’re right on the cusp of achieving marriage equality.”
Matt Hutson, campaign director for Protect Marriage Maine, which opposes the same-sex marriage referendum, expressed confidence Wednesday evening in the ability of Maine voters to discern credible advocates.
“On an issue as important as marriage, I’m confident that Mainers will give more credence to the Rev. Billy Graham and Bishop Richard Malone, who support traditional marriage, in comparison to a band called fun.,” said Hutson.
A call to Maine4Marriage, another group advocating for “No” votes on Question 1, was not returned Wednesday.
Thank you all again for your support! I feel cautiously energized by Tuesday’s prospects, but I remember how awful it felt in 2009 to have 53% of voters vote against my partner and me having the same right to marry each other as any tax paying American citizens. People should not be able to vote on the civil rights of others, but since we are doing just that, I would urge you all to vote Yes. If you do not agree, then please leave the box blank. Don’t vote down Americans’ right to civil marriage.
THis is not a civil rights matter.
Yes it is.
marriage is a civil right (decided by SCOTUS). you need not have any religious affiliations to marry in the united states. just march right down to the courthouse/city hall and proclaim “I do”. churches do not have to perform any unions they oppose, (as has always been their right). a ‘right’ by definition is something you should not have to fight for…it is guaranteed under the law. unless you are gay. then you are denied your right to marry. and the longer i listen to the religious opposition to gay marriage, the more sure I am that it has become high time churches start paying taxes.
then by your definition, it is not ‘right’ as it is not legal, so you have no ‘right’. you don’t seem to understand the definition you so ‘proudly’ pointed out.
I have read your comment several times and have no idea what you mean? I am not sure how ‘proudly’ I have tried to define gays civil right to marry, but i certainly am frustrated by the entire issue. the supreme court of the united states has deemed marriage a civil right. I completely understand the definition of that decision. do you?
Gays can marry anywhere, any time, in any state for the purpose of taxable income from the children they have.
God is the Final Authority on Everything. You need to grasp that. He made you and gives you every breath you breathe, every heart beat and every other good thing you have. Rights come first of all from God. He Created man and woman He created / instituted marriage. He defined marriage for us and No man has the right to call it anything else.
The courts could decide murder is o.k. too but any moral, intelligent person would oppose it.
As for churches not having to perform any weddings, well maybe for a little while. If this law was to pass the gay pride community would have their foot in the door of everything. If the yes vote were to pass then that would be the law. There is no discriminating against the law without fear of fines or punishment of some sort.
I am warning everyone I can to not be fooled about this and think that this law would be benign to churches and won’t harm anyone else. There are already numerous testimonies in other states of lawsuits having to fight this very thing.
You are NEVER going to take my God Given Right to define marriage as only between a man and a woman. Law or no law I and many, many others will continue to stand on the principles of Supreme Authority, the mighty Word of God. You Cannot win because you are fighting against God.
it absolutely is a civil rights matter.
Aww, because you say so? Because if you admit it is, then you’ll actually feel guilty for your position?
Marriage most certainly is a civil matter. A church “blessing” a marriage is a religious matter, but if two atheists get married by a JP, they are just as married as two religious nutjobs who get married in a church.
?????????????????
What’s with this constant onslaught of $Millions in donations and the biggest of big guns from Hollywood lending their support and voice to Maine’s SSM ballot referendum?
Supporters who want to legalize men marrying men and women marrying women have made it clear for many months (all summer) that passage of SSM in the election booth is a slam-dunk in Maine. Supporters of SSM have outraised opponents 36- to- 1 I’ve only seen TV Ads opposing SSM in the last 7 to 10 days in Maine. It’s pitiful compared to the truckloads of millions sent into Maine by outside (and inside) sources. Maine voters have been bombarded with the SSM initative all summer and into the Fall. All I’ve heard all along is the certainty of passage this time because of the changing of minds put on by the SSM ground game of the last 6 to 8 months. BRAD PITT ? Is that really necessary at this point?
Well, I think people are supporting same-sex marriage because they see how important this issue of equality is.
But to your claims– the opposition has been matching Mainers United in the last month, actually. Not because Mainers have been contributing, though— it was mostly due to an $800,000 donation from the National Organization for Marriage (who continue to violate Maine laws in their contributions) and $150,000 donation from the Knights of Columbus (at the expense of funding real charitable work they do).
Your quote: “and $150,000 donation from the Knights of Columbus (at the expense of funding real charitable work they do)”
****************************************
Your sarcasm concerning the Knights of Columbus and how YOU consider yourself to be in a position to declare where you think they should be spending their money is the usual tripe coming out of the Liberal/Progressive mouth.
You would fit right in with the dissenters who excoriated Jesus when He allowed a woman (a sinner woman at that) to apply an expensive peufume on His head and His feet. Take a look at what the hypercritical crowd had to say about the woman’s decision to fritter away that expensive perfume…similar to your berating of the Knights of Columbus.
Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster vial of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But the disciples were indignant when they saw this, and said, “Why this waste? This perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good deed to Me. You always have the poor with you; but you do not always have Me. When she poured this perfume on My body, she did it to prepare Me for burial. Truly I say to you, wherever this gospel is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be spoken of in memory of her.”
A judgmental person would really have a case of what a ridiculous waste it was, whereas the expensive perfume was not only poured on the head of Jesus and on his feet, but His body would soon be in a burial tomb. But Jesus didn’t share their attitude. He didn’t say, “well yes, you’re right… this perfume should have been sold and the money spent on the poor…..this woman is too stupid to know better and a sinner besides.” No, Jesus not only allowed the expensive perfume be poured out on Himself but He welcomed it and praised the woman for her choice and her gentleness.
How else could the Knights of Columbus have used the $15.8 million they have spent to deny marriage to gay and lesbian families since 2005?
The organization could have purchased:
– 105, 333 wheelchairs for its Global Wheelchair Mission, which provides greater mobility for people around the world
– 972,307 coats through its Coats for Kids program, which keeps kids warm in the winter
– 5,873,606 meals through its Food for Families program, which financially supports food banks
So yes, the opposition to same sex marriage even harms themselves as they seek to harm gay and lesbian families across the United States.
Oh God help me……you didn’t even grasp the point of my comment.
It’s none of your business what the K of C does with their funds..or any other community organizations for that matter. It’s also nobody’s business where donations come from or who the donors are…….whether it be Republican, Democrat or Independents. The same goes for tax returns…….NOBODYS BUSINESS ! Regardless of party affiliation. Your self-righteousness and arrogance is beyond belief.
Oh KikiEm, Stop getting your knickers in a twist over a matter that obviously has nothing to do with you. Maybe you should pray about it.
lol
Yes, how arrogant of me, to think that a Christian charity would better use its money to help the invalid, clothe children, and feed the hungry.
Far, far better for them to waste millions delaying the inevitable equality of civil marriage for same sex couples? Where did Jesus preach that we should stand against the happiness of others in judgement?
Drag God and Jesus into this SSM issue at your own peril. Jesus is not a Republican or a Democrat. God and or Jesus don’t have to recognize or abide by the U.S. Constitution. Jesus was sorely aware that happiness can and never will be found in a political or government policy.
You did, not us.
You do need help.
KofC’s actions do go on the public record when they jump into a fray outside church missions. Yes, tax returns as well as contributor lists are our business (you listening, NOM?).
What donations have gays and lesbians done that would even slightly compare to K of C?
I’d venture to say that gays and lesbians are members of many charitable organizations and volunteer at the same level as the rest of the populace.
Speaking of judgmental … and off-subject.
Convivialvisit took it upon himself/herself to malign the Knights of Columbus for donating to the opponents of SSM. The Knights are Catholic …serve God first…then family..then their communities. His implication was their religious affiliation and what he, Convivial Visit, determined they ought to be doing with their money…..as it relates to serving God. The arrogance of that attitude has to be entertained on an empty stomach. He needs to keep his haughty nose out of what others spend their money on. I don’t have a meltdown when I consider what Micheal Moore and George Soros are contributing their millions to………The enlightened egotistical elite only want to know what others are making and what they’re spending it on so they can malign, smear and condemn them. It’s disgusting and contemptible.
I have to say that, as a Catholic, I am very disappointed that the Knights of Columbus chose to take money from Project Medishare, which provides prosthetic limbs for Haitian children who lost limbs in the 2010 earthquake, or from any of their other worthy partnerships, like Food for Families, Coats for Kids, or Habitat for Humanity, and instead put it toward a political cause.
The $150,000 toward the effort to keeping some members of our community from formalizing their unions could be better spent, in my opinion.
How do figure this is not a civil rights issue? Civil rights didn’t begin and end with the repression of African Americans – it’s about equal rights for all, including the gay communities. Please inform us on what this is if it isn’t civil rights, please, I am interested!
Yes, it is.
Civil Rights:
plural noun, ( often initial capital letters )
1.rights to personal liberty established by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the
U.S. constitution and certain Congressional acts, especially as applied to an individual or a minority group.
This is not a civil rights matter, *fingers in ears*, lalalala
please don’t tell people how to vote…it is their civic right…whether you agree with how they vote or not.
asking is different from telling.
Why this again there is people in tragedies who lost their homes through a storm that ravage the east coast devasted lives yet your here about same sex marriages ,, shame on you God made a man and a woman you can oppose it fact remains union of a couple will never be same sex a disgrace to God repent of your ways turn to God for mercy and grace for your souls
huh? Complete sentences and proper grammer would help get your point across. As it is, I cannot understand your response.
Seth, i will be honest with you i was one of those people, i will not this time. I do volunteer a few days a week now at night time, which i gave up with my family to do this for your campaign. I do hope and pray this goes through this time, i just have a gut feeling it is not. Someone can tell me on the phone, yes i will vote for you, but go to the polls and it will be different. I hope it goes through pal
Who is Brad Pitt? Who is fun.?
> “Who is Brad Pitt? Who is fun.?”
Yeah, I get ya there, but so what ?
You do understand equal treatment under the law, so are voting YES on #1 though, right ?
what law! one does not have to marry..yes the state issues licences ..there for equal treatment..well show me that law..the state.issues driver’s licences but that is a privilege ..so..
SCOTUS has already found marriage a right.
They have not done that with drivers’ licenses.
Besides, you don’t ban gay citizens from driving, why deny them marriage?
scotus is not suppose to be in the.law.making business ..not constitutional..i know you don’t care..as long as you get your way.
The Supreme Court upholding 14th Amendment is the very definition of Constitutional.
The Supreme Court isn’t “making law” when they REVOKE anti-gay Hate Laws.
You really should try to pull your head out of your butt and look around at reality once in a while. It might help you to get a clue.
How is it “not constitutional”?
Where do you stop? What about Bisexuals marrying a man and also a woman, one SSM and one Hetero Marriage. What about a person who practices beastiality? What about a transvestite who sometimes feels like a man, and sometimes feels like a woman? What about a pedophile who wants to redefine the term adult? You cannot discriminate, right? What about two male prisoners who decide they want to be married. Do they then earn the right to not testify against one another?
Redundant extreme balderdash. Again.
Hard to stop slippin’ once we are falling down that slope. Your balderdash is my real possibility. It is a near certainty that polygamy advocates will use the exact same arguments the pro gay marriage side uses today to attempt legalize their intended unions. Gay couples will feel compelled to support their cause, for fear of being labeled hypocrites.
That’s a total lie. We all know what POLYGAMY is to the #1 polygamist in America, he’s in prison for criminal child sexual assault, and legal marriage would have impeded his welfare scam.
ok, then please explain, why 3 adults can not use the same argument, we are not getting equal treatment under the 14th amendment, what does equal treatment really mean under the law.
That every person get equal treatment under the laws that r on the books already, IE: Black, white, purple, Woman, Man ect… There will always be some group cry were are not getting equal treatment.
Is there really such a thing is equal treatment for all?? there are always gonna be someone cry wolf.
Is getting married a Law? Can a man and a woman ever get denied to get married?
Thank you for showing where the slope of a yes vote will end up in Maine.
So let the polygamy advocates gather up enough signatures to get this as a question on a ballot. Being gay is not illegal, while bigamy is.
One man and two women living together as spouses, not married, is legal. Just like two individuals, as a same sex couple living together now. See exact same 14th amendment argument. Who are we to deny three consenting adults from having equal rights to marriage like heterosexual duo couples have? You must be a bigot.
Then go ahead and stop them, with good reason. What are you doing about the blatant polygamy practiced in the Arizona panhandle, the Jeff’s crowd?
I’m just trying to keep the wolf away from my door. Too busy to get out to AZ.
You’d stop where your actions would victimize another person, why do you have to ask this? Are your morals so fluid that you cannot see the difference between a loving, committed relationship two adults share and child rape? Please seek therapy if this is the case.
If you cannot argue against gay marriage without bringing up bestiality and pedophilia, you don’t have an argument against gay marriage.
Exactly. We’re talking about the rights of adult humans. Why is this confusing?
Well, now we know what you are fantasizing about right now. What do YOUR twisted fetishes have to do with loving, committed same gender Mainer couples?
How much brain damage do you need to believe this krap?
Psychologists identified homophobia as a mental illness and published their results in the Journal of the National Institutes of Health in 1953.
removed
Just like homosexuality was before dems decided in the 70’s to make them a voting block.
I agree that Republicans should end their opposition to treating gays and lesbians equally, and eliminate this wedge issue Democrats enjoy.
As a registered Republican, I thought this year’s party platform was a travesty of unconstitutional discrimination toward gays and lesbians. The party of Lincoln should do better.
Wildly false.
Your comment on animals marks you as so ignorant of law it borders on stupidity.
Please tell me that you are joking! By law, you are only allowed to marry one person. How can you group beastiality and pedophile as one in the same?! All I can do is sit here and shake my head at all of this bs coming out. Please educate yourself. What about on TLC the man with multiple wives – I would say you are for that because he is straight?
I so love it when the anti-ssm people go here. It just proves that they have no leg to stand on.
idiotic comparison if I ever saw one
Several US State High Courts have established marriage equality and cited that right and the 14th Amendment. The Constitution says their opinions COUNT. YOUR nasty opinion don’t count for diddly squat.
my opinion doesn’t count? why, because I don’t agree with you? Can’t you make a statement on these blogs without resorting to nasty name calling and insults? I am starting to just skip over your comments because they are based in unhappiness and nastiness.
Your opinion doesn’t count against the Courts–and your opinion IS nasty.
If some can marry and by so doing reduce their taxes by filing a joint return, is your solution to raise married people’s taxes?
I guess that might be equal treatment under the law for all American families, too.
So relative to hospital visitation rights and other end of life issues what solutions have ya got up your sleeve ?
get the government out of the marriage business..like it was prior to 1923..there
What law? How about these, 1,100+ and counting…
http://www.gao.gov/archive/1997/og97016.pdf
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04353r.pdf
There’s no justifiable reason for our government to discriminate against gays and lesbians with these laws, and that is why we seek civil marriage. That is what courts find consistently when they examine the issue.
The government doesn’t discriminate against gays and lesbians for drivers licenses, so I’m not sure what your point is with that claim.
I’ve voted YES on question 1, because treating each other fairly is a Maine value.
But you have to pass a test in order to receive a driver’s license.
Pssst, Gay people already drive. Now they want the license to marry. Since it DOESNT affect you, why don’t you mind your own business and carry on.
nope
schmidlap wants to violate the United States Constitution’s guarantee of “Equal Protection Under the Law.” Won’t last…
haha
ooh..brad pitt ..still.voting no!!
We know… You like harming law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
oh you caught me tedlick Badkey ..go ahead tell me its because the state issues marriage licences that it would be against the law to nite have equal treatment..yawn..ya. i am probably a racist .bigot ..sexist i probably hate women and children and red haired people..We know.how.you silly liberals like to throw that out there against those who disagree!!
blah blah blah….
blah blah blah ..liberal thoughts?
just parroting the baggers….
The 2009 anti-gay Hate Vote was NOT just “disagreeing,” it was subverting the United States Constitution. That shows anti-gays aren’t loyal Americans. Gonna vote again to HURT our country, Keith? Shame on you.
ok..since you appear to.be ignorant ..where in the constitution do you find marriage ? where does the state get its authority to get into the marriage business..now..go put real.thought into.it and not thoughts brought.to you by other nags
Please answer all of those questions yourself.
Maynard v. Hill, 125 U.S. 190, 205, 211 (1888), Meyer v. Nebraska, 262 U.S. 390, 399 (1923), Griswold v. Connecticut, 381 U.S. 479, 486 (1965), Loving v. Virginia, 388 U.S. 1, 12 (1967),Boddie v. Connecticut, 401 U.S. 371, 376, 383 (1971), Cleveland Board of Education v. LaFleur, 414 U.S. 632, 639-40 (1974), Moore v. City of East Cleveland, 431 U.S. 494, 499 (1977),Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374, 384 (1978),M.L.B. v. S.L.J., 519 U.S. 102, 116 (1996), Lawrence v. Texas, 539 U.S. 558, 574 (2003).
Keith, it’s called the 14th Amendment. “No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the priveleges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”
The last clause is key. Simply put, the legal protections that the state affords to married couples are not trivial, and are not simply regarding what any religious insitution deems necessary. There are things like being able to file joint tax returns, claim inheritance, visit that spouse in the hospital, and many more that are not given to loving, committed same-sex couples. If you want to say that homosexuality is merely a choice, and we’re giving “special rights” to people who somehow are already afforded the rights you deem necessary, then I’m sure that this little paragraph won’t do much to sway you. However, if you actually want your above question answered, and want definitive text that in the eyes of the lower courts, shows that preventing same-sex couples from entering into these civially recognized partnerships, which by the way are referred to across the board as marriages, infringes on their 14th Amendment rights. Diagree with the interpreation all you want, but this is not my pipedream opinion, it’s recognized fact of the 1st Circuit, 3rd Ciruit, the US District Court of Massachusetts, and many others.
The constitution is just like the Bible. Everyone has their own interpretation of what they WANT it to mean.
Anti gay hate vote! who is really spreading hate here.
it’s all they got.
How is gay marriage going to effect you personally? Why should anyone be told who they should love? If you are a religious one, you know that God is the only one that should judge and it is a sin for us to judge. I am not religious but grew up in a Catholic family and they support gay marriage. Like I said, how is this going to effect you personally?
This has to be just about the most sophomoric argument of all the rhetoric surrounding homosexual marriage. Of course, homosexual marriage is not going to affect anyone else.
But, it is just as true that the marriage of three women and a pony would not affect anyone else’s marriage either.
So, unless you are arguing in support of marriage for multiple partners and animals, or any other form of marriage, the “effect on anyone else” is ridiculously ambiguous.
If you can’t argue against gay marriage without bringing up polygamy or bestiality, you don’t have an argument against gay marriage.
Seriously, those things have not followed anywhere that gay marriage has been allowed. The ‘slippery slope’ scare tactic is a poor reason to stand in opposition of treating fellow Mainers equally.
I am merely pointing out how idiotic the argument is.
I leave it to other people to decide on their own whether there is any “slippery slope.”
Speaking of questionable arguments … (and I’m being kind)
I wasn’t making any type of argument – where do you see that? I was merely asking how this was going to effect them personally because they are against gay marriage and equal rights as Americans. I’m not the one that is bringing up beastiality or poligamy here. I find your argument to be ridiculously ambiguous myself (to quote you).
Who’s advocating your examples? Hyperbolic red herring.
Oh, boo hoo, you can’t get married, you can’t get those tax breaks you’re envious of and pilfer the pockets of the rest of us.
oh, so sad…cry me a river….and then go back to paying your taxes!
Why do you get to pilfer off of me?
Hypocrite.
Anti-gays are dishonest. Ever seen one NOT TELL A LIE?
It’s called lying for the Lord, the only thing, they need to remember LYING is a SIN!!!!
Perhaps when you grow up, you’ll be able to have empathy for others and realize that treating one another equally under our laws is a good, American value to have.
the path to hell was paved with empathy and good intentions.
I missed the passage of the bible where Jesus condemned having empathy for one another.
Why are you bringing the Bible into it? I haven’t seen or read where Keith Colby is a church-going fellow.
My bad, then– I thought he might have a misguided reason for opposing the equal treatment of fellow Mainers.
If you say he’s just a troll looking to demean and hurt people, so be it.
If you say he’s just a troll looking to demean and hurt people, so be it.
********************************************
I never said that…..you are saying that. Are you under the impression that atheists and agnostics are automatically in favor of SSM?
He seems to bring up a lot of religious issues. Like his professed disinterest, I don’t care about his church attendance, just his statements.
I couldn’t agree more. Returning to a time when kids had a prayer at the beginning of their public school day–since it would be “good” for them–would be another mile down that path.
Hilarious, you just admitted you’re a parasite on your fellow Americans who are LGBT. Be sure to tell all your friends that. I can imagine what they will think of that. Thanks for helping pass this.
ohhhh..you do not like it when someone disagrees with you huh? tolerant bunch! well get the government out of marriage business..like prior to 1923..put it back in the churches hands..there taken.care of.ps …lifes a otch buy a helmet
ever hear of separation of church and state ? I imagine not. It’s in that document the right likes to wave so high when it is convenient , not so high when it isn’t so convenient.
This is a worthwhile argument to really think about.
Despite the supposed religious protection written into the proposed law, any exemption of specific churches or religions will put the government in a position of unequal enforcement of the law.
The state cannot “favor” one religion over any other. As agents of the state, no minister or priest who refuses to conduct homosexual marriage could be ignored by the state. As you and so many other SSM advocates have noted, legal marriage is totally within the dominion of civil authority. Legally, the religious protection that is touted by the pro-SSM crowd would be just one law suit away from being declared unconstitutional.
The ultimate and only solution will be that no priest, minister or any other member of the clergy could be qualified for or be acceptable agents of the state. They will still be able to solemnize marriages in accordance with their own faith traditions, but they will not be permitted to sign marriage certificates. Ultimately, no ceremony conducted by clergy will be recognized as a valid marriage. Couples will have to say their “vows” before city officials, notaries public and judges, justices or attorneys.
The First Amendment protects churches— it has historically, it does today, and it will when same-sex civil marriage is legal nationwide.
Churches are free to refuse marriage ceremonies to anyone, for any reason. Catholic churches won’t marry excommunicated catholics, Muslim mosques won’t marry non-muslims, and orthadox Jewish temples won’t marry Jews to gentiles. And in all of those examples, civil marriage is indeed offered to these people— their churches religious freedom is distinct from our equal treatment under the law for civil marriage.
Even in 2012, there was a church who denied marriage to a black couple! And they were within their rights to do so, as disgusting we may think their attitude is.
So NO— the religious protection that we speak of is not “just one law suit away from being declared unconstitutional” because that religious protection has been exercised by churches and clergy for centuries in America.
Post where separation of church and state is found in the Constitution. The piece of paper that uses the term…separation of church and state…is in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. I bet you don’t even know that Thomas Jefferson had no part in the drafting of the U.S. Constitution. He was actually off cavorting about in France during the summer of the Constitutional Convention. He was about everything French.
I doubt he helped or did not help. People already know how they’re voting, they always have. Too bad both sides waste so much money on advertising.
How about you get your church to start paying taxes?
Me too.
why?
This time, you will certainly be in the MINORITY
Yup…that’s my understanding coming from the gay community……this time is a slam-dunk for SSM.
Awesome.. More support!
Brad darling – shave and a haircut, and lose the glasses, please?
Brad Pitt, going for the Justin Bieber look, advocates for gay marriage…and then goes home to Angelina Jolie.
I’d say anything she wanted me to say, too.
Brad’s mom does not approve of SSM, neither does Angelina’s dad, Jon Voigt.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pitts-mother-pens-anti-345647
Tisk, bad people in Hollywood, who’d’a thunk?
We use to keep our sex lives private.. Being a good looking man I have felt men looking at me like a sex object. I am tired of being treated like a peice of meat.. I am a Hetrosexual. Maybe I’ll sue the ogglers for sexual aggression.
Why are you obsessed with the act?
no no no no no and no!
Scientifically established fact. You want some more URLs?
Why are you obsessed with the act?
being looked at like a slap of meat is not funny. where do you get off on making fun of someone being sexually harrassed. That is just sick
we’re making fun of you because any time some guy claims that he’s guaranteed to be a dog. Woof, push, woof.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/05/05/the-christian-rights-gay-problem.html
“In 1996, three researchers from the University of Georgia published a study in the Journal of Abnormal Psychology about the links between homophobia and homosexual arousal. The authors, Henry E. Adams, Lester W. Wright, Jr., and Bethany A. Lohr, started with 35 straight men identified as homophobic and 29 straight men that were not. Both groups were shown heterosexual, lesbian and gay male porn while their erectile responses were measured. “Only the homophobic men showed an increase in penile erection to male homosexual stimuli,” reported the researchers.
It was empirical evidence for a theory long popular among psychoanalysts: that those most hostile to gay people are often driven by terror and shame about their own desires.”
Brilliant. So if someone finds homosexuals to be disgusting perverts, then they must be a secret closet homosexual.
So, in the same sense then, if someone finds pedophiles to be disgusting perverts, then they must be a closet pedophile? Or maybe the same goes if you think ax murderers are disgusting defective individuals?
It’s pathetic that homosexuals have such a low opinion of themselves that the best way they have try to insult someone is to imply that the person who disagrees with them is also a homosexual. Is that the best you have? I know you are but what am I?
They stated a research study done – it has nothing to do with research on pedophiles you dope. Once again, trying to put gays and pedophiles in the same category.
So your constant railing about anti-gay haters are bigots.What is in your closet.Captain bigot suit maybe?
Welcome to the world of a good looking female.
How do you feel about a good looking woman looking at you like a sex object?
No one is making their sex lives public. They’re asking for marriage rights. Get your dirty mind out of the gutter.
Thank you, I am so very sick and tired of reading anti-gay fantasies about “gay sex.”
Sounds to me like you have a pretty big inferiority complex.
careful you might get sued for a hate crime.Legal action seems to only work one way.
Now you know how a good looking woman feels when men look at her like a piece of meat. This is no argument in my eye. This issue isn’t about sex – it’s about two people that love one another, geez. Talk about arrogance, smf!
Anyone that would take advice from Pitt on how to vote on anything should try to re-think their life choices…
“In 1978, Nugent began a relationship with seventeen-year-old Hawaii native Pele Massa. Due to the age difference they could not marry so Nugent joined Massa’s parents in signing documents to make himself her legal guardian, an arrangement that Spin magazine ranked in October 2000 as #63 on their list of the “100 Sleaziest Moments in Rock”.[28][29]”
So what …
ummmm, what does that have to do with anything? this is 2012 isn’t it?
…
Voting for anything should come from the inner person, not by who “Outside” favors the subject!
Absolutely— we can all look into our hearts and see that treating fellow Mainers equally under our laws is the right thing to do.
I’ve voted YES on question 1, not because of what celebrities or politicians say, but because ALL Maine families deserve the opportunity to protect the lives they build together with civil marriage.
Voting for anything should follow the United States Constitution, which requires “Equal Protection.” A “no” vote is meant to violate the Constitution.
Hollywood, what a big surprise.
Anti-gay, what a big surprise you’d try to downplay this.
And like you guys weren’t clapping your hands for that ridiculous Clint Eastwood speech. Don’t be a hypocrite.
couldn’t say, is that posted on the BDN site on the issue.
Yes, there was an article and an editorial about it.
The one about the empty chair, and Obama. Nto sure that has a lot to do with this issue.
“Hollywood, what a big surprise.”
Has to do with the hypocrisy that you demonstrate.
How can it be hypocrisy when I criticise both parties?
Why doesn’t the BDN publish the letter Brad’s Mom (Jane Pitt) wrote to her local newspaper in Missouri. She does NOT support SSM.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/brad-pitts-mother-pens-anti-345647
It is really impressive that Brad could rise so far above the bigotry of his upbringing.
celebrity endorsements don’t really affect those who think
At least anti-gays hope not, but they use celebrities when they can. Of course, like anti-gays have Brat Pitt’s MOM. How LAME is that–how LAME are anti-gays?!?!?!?!?!
like your tolerance….making fun of someone’s mother?
Nope, making fun of anti-gays and how lame their claim to fame is. Using somebody’s MOM in show business is totally not done. This is how desperate anti-gays are.
Next they will find his father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate… Then look out… hehehe
And yet you cite opinions of relatives of those very same celebrities and seem to think that adds substance to the discussion.
Because she wrote it to a newspaper in Missouri?
I think she lives in Branson, Missouri–you know…
Mostly because this isn’t Missouri and marriage equality isn’t on the ballot in Missouri.
Those who oppose gay marriage have churches and bible believing Christians and sound moral thinking people behind them. Those for gay marriage have rock bands, drug culture and Hollywood behind them. That tell you anything? The gay lifestyle is evil and of the dark side. It is not of God its of the devil. Its not from heaven its from hell. It is perverse, evil and ugly. There is nothing pure or right about it. It is nothing to do with equal rights or love (the bible calls it an unnatural relationship of lust). It is all about sexual preference and 2-3 percent of Maine’s population attempting to get special rights that will adversely effect the other 97 percent. Don’t be fooled. If this passes (I don’t think it will) it will be the law, you can’t discriminate against the law. They just want their foot in the door and then they will be able to push all kinds of things.
(Rom 1:26-27)
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. ”
Since our country’s inception there have been groups that have seen the promise of our Constitution, and petitioned our society for equal rights, access to government, and legal protections. And all along the way there have been people predicting doom and gloom and national destruction if we extend these things to one more group, race, sex, or other minority.
And every time they have failed, and every time our nation has failed to self-destruct. This is just the next way in which our constitution is fulfilling its promise to ALL Americans.
Maine led the nation on other issues of equality in the past — we allowed interracial marriage in the late 1800, well before Loving v Virginia made it legal nationwide (1969). We allowed women the right to vote ahead of our nation’s constitutional amendment granting women’s suffrage. Even during times of slavery, Maine was the terminus for the underground railroad, a refuge for slaves seeking freedom in Canada.
I hope that Mainers will join me in voting YES for equality this November, for ALL Maine families deserve the important protections civil marriage conveys, to protect the lives they build together, and the children they raise together.
YES, YES, YES, most emphatically YES! I want LGBT citizens to have the same protections under the law that my husband and I enjoy. I am a heterosexual women in a traditional state sanctioned marriage NO ONE has more rights than me regarding the medical/life decisions should my husband become incapacitated, certainly not a hypocritical, neocon, religious right zealot. PROUDLY voting YES in this important Civil Rights referendum.
Self-righteousness and a sense of certainty are the very opposite of any kind of spiritual life. “God is true,” but if you want to go around claiming that God speaks through you, or that you speak for God, I think you are far most lost than the rest of us.
I didn’t interpret anything when I wrote “Romans 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:
Rom 1:27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”
It is exactly the way GOD SAID IT!
“Begin at the beginning,” the King said, very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” 4:55 Alice In Wonderland
o.k. from the beginning:
“And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. But from the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh: so then they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”
(Mark 10:4-9)
Yet another anti-gay poster is totally obsessed with “gay sex.” It’s really sad you read the Bible for the “hot parts.”
The Bible is probably all they read. They are against everything that is not God related or God approved. I feel sorry for them that they are so wrapped up in religious teachings that they have closed themselves off from the real world.
Most of these folks don’t actually read the bible, they just regurgitate the same passages they find that support their judgmental view of others.
Don’t try a diversion from the perversion facts because that’s what this is all about perversion being pushed on society
Keep your religious nonsense in your church where it belongs, and keep it out of my government. If you want to believe the obvious nonsense in bronze age fairy tales, that’s your business. But don’t expect intelligent people to buy into it.
How will extending marriage to “2-3 percent” of Maine’s population “adversely effect the other 97 percent”? And in your response please be specific with your examples.
Quoting scripture only entertains your friends. I find it annoying.
There needs to be a dislike button on here BDN!
more quoting from that ancient human spun collection of tales … so fearful and sad …
want to talk about the type of moral characters we’ve seen in the Catholic church?
Strange, I always thought it was ‘Birds of a feather, always flocked together’.
Thank you.
I was never involved in these discussions prior to 2009. I’ve lived in Maine many years and never made it a secret that I was gay, and no one ever made me feel uncomfortable here. Not my neighbors, not my coworkers, and not even the people I interacted with in neighboring towns. I never saw any need to be vocal about my need for equal treatment, because I saw no one visibly wanting to treat me differently due to my sexual orientation or the gender of my soul mate.
When the Catholic church of Maine and NOM organized to take away rights our state legislature had granted me in early 2009, I suddenly became aware of an entire subset of Mainers who saw me and my life as some threat to them. I decided I needed to become engaged in these discussions to put my point of view in front of them.
Most of the time, I realize I’m not changing their minds. But along the way I have found so many others here who support my rights, even if they aren’t affected by my lack of them.
So thank you— and thanks to everyone here who stands up for the gays and lesbians who are fighting for equal treatment under Maine law, who are willing to take time to counter these baseless accusations and hurtful attacks that these trolls put forth.
Real harm comes to partners left behind when a loved one dies, and without civil marriage, social security benefits are nonexistent. Hospital visitation rights are not as clear cut, especially if challenged by other family members. And funeral arrangements can be more problematic without a clear civil marriage license smoothing the way for end of life decisions.
For me, it is how my government is treating me as a taxpaying American that is the issue we are addressing with question 1.
” I saw no one visibly wanting to treat me differently due to my sexual orientation”, and that is the point, people disagree with your style of sex period, last time I checked Americans have the right to disagree, without being labeled.
People who tell gay partner families are not as good as straight partner families are going to be labeled. Your lack of compassion is what defines you. History will judge. The people that didn’t want blacks to marry whites still exist and the rest of the population doesn’t think well of them either. Thankfully, as a woman, I can vote in this election because in 1920 women had finally got that law passed by the federal government. Guess what I think of those who opposed it?
We have the right to disagree with one another, but our government should be treating us equally under our laws.
There are over 1,100 benefits and privileges extended by our government based on marital status, and that is what our petition for civil marriage is about.
Think of me what you will, but understand that our government is supposed to represent all of us.
Actually not. You have the right to disagree. And likewise, I have the right to call your reasons for disagreeing complete baloney.
Yes, that is our American right to disagree but, we are also suppressing the gay community because of their sexual orientation and that is not acceptable. Doesn’t the civil rights movement mean anything to anyone anymore? Like I had said in a previous statement, this is about civil rights and they have just as much right to marry the one they love and have built a life together.
People disagree with one another on many topics, how to raise your children, what color siding your house needs to be, what clothes to wear – well, you see where I am going.
The point you made about how Americans have the right to disagree without being labeled – well, don’t you think gays don’t want to be labeled? Don’t you think that they would like to live just like everyone else without being ridiculed and left out of the same activities and opportunities that the rest of us have? They are the ones being labeled along with those that support same sex unions.
You have made so many excellent points about the effects that are happening right now and will continue to happen if this doesn’t go through. I am a full supporter of equal rights and same sex unions and thank you so much for your words and personal insight.
YAWN>>>>>>>>>>>>>>zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Trahslation: WHINE! WHINE! WHINE!
I consider myself supportive to all people. Homosexuals should not marry because rarely are they monogamous to one person. The devorce issues would be absurd, the jealous spiteful issues that develop among many lesbian couples go on and on and on. For themselves it would be a bad idea.. Gays often double date, and “swing” mingle amongst other gays. So if desired, a civil union is far more appropriate. Why invade the creation of the famity unit that is marriage and united within the church? What do you hope to prove by resenting and warping the church’s union that celebrates a man and a woman? Why turn to “hate” hetrosexual values?
You’re really off-base here. I have been in a committed, monogamous relationship for over two decades now, longer than all but a couple of our heterosexual friends. We know several other same-sex couples who have been together many years, and we all would benefit from being able to wed.
Really, don’t you realize that blanket generalizations about gays and lesbians are a poor reason to treat us as second-class citizens?
We don’t ‘hate’ heterosexual values, we support traditional marriage AND same-sex marriage! No one voting YES on question 1 is seeking to deny marriage to anyone.
So to answer your question as to “why”, that is simple: because we seek equal treatment under the law for this relationship we have more than demonstrated is an equal to any marriage.
You have so many preconceived and confused notions about gay people. Check out the “fidelity” rates among straights, you might be surprised that straight people are allowed to marry. Most divorces are absurd. The crap straight spouses will say about each other to “pay them back” in a divorce would curl your hair. Straights double date and “swing” mingle with other straights too. Look up the legal (not religious) definition of marriage, nothing there about churches. Gays wanting to marry each other – just like straights do – is not “hate” against straights – mimicry is said to be the sincerest form of flattery. How hard is it for you to understand that gay people want the government to consider them married – they really don’t care if a particular religious group will “bless” their legal relationship as spouses.
But plenty of them WILL RIGHT NOW:
The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists
The Episcopal Church
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Metropolitan Community Church
Conservative Judaism
Reform Judaism
Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)
Unitarian Universalist Church
United Church of Christ
Except, of course, that anti-gays are DEPRIVING them of their FREEDOM OF RELIGION.
Do you think it makes any sense to argue that gay people shouldn’t have marriage rights because they’re not monogamous? They’re asking for the legal rights to solidify their monogamous relationships! Use your brain here.
Maybe anti-gays think if they can prevent us from being monogamous they can still keep on WHINING that we are NOT monogamous.
With the divorce rate among heterosexual couples approaching 50%, I think you have no argument at all here. The churches (that’s plural, not singular, in case you hadn’t noticed) have nothing to do with it. They are private clubs, and if they want to wave a magic wand over some marriages and not others, who cares? Marriage is a legal condition. Religion has nothing to do with it.
straight people do all of that too. There are many gay couples that are monogamous, and want to marry.
Because people get married outside the church too. There are also clergy that are completely willing to marry gay people. There are churches that will marry people who have been divorced as well.
MattMatters and so does spelling.
I have this one family member who was faithful to his partner till he died after 17 years together. My own heterosexual marriage lasted 17 years. Homosexual or heterosexual doesn’t matter in fidelity. The person making the vows make the fidelity.
Such a closed minded statement MattMatters. If you check your facts, gay couples have longer lasting relationships than straight couples. You think that straight couples aren’t swingers and cheaters? They are the worst offenders!
It’s really sad how quickly anti-gays go right to “gay sex,” 99% of which is just their OWN fantasies about “gay sex.” Who made you an expert on “gay sex,” MattMatters? And who made you the
“Decider” about my civil rights under the United States Constitution?
Don’t bother pretending that only mixed-sex couples are raising children:
“Question: How Many Children Have Gay Parents in the US?
According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, between 8 and 10 million children are being raised in gay and lesbian families.”
http://adoption.about.com/od/gaylesbian/f/gayparents.htm
Many major Christian and Jewish churches are marrying us right now in 6 US States and DC.
and just WHAT makes you think we HATE our straight parents and our straight friends?
Yep, MattMatters, you tell us you know ALL ABOUT LGBT AMERICANS, huh? Pretty funny…
I have voted for gay marriage every time it has come up, but the vote yes people are so annoying this time around…I am strongly considering voting no this time.
The fact that one of my best friends is a gay man….is the only reason I am still considering voting yes on 1….and the consideration is shrinking every day.
100% anti-gay manure…
isn’t that kind of a silly reason to vote no? Vote based on principles and what you truly believe, not to “get back” at people you find annoying.
Money is money I suppose but Brad Pitt couldn’t be faithful in his own marriage but then supports gay marriage! Maybe he should have taken the same amount of time he is using to support gay marriage and worked on his own. (I do believe in equality and that gay marriage should be legalized!) Just think Brad Pitt and his homewrecker girlfriend are scums.
Um, we have about a 50% divorce rate as a whole. It’s not just Brad Pitt.
Divorce? Funny, did you know Massachusetts has had marriage equality the longest–and has the lowest divorce rate of any US State?
not just Brad Pitt but he is the one putting himself out there in the public eye.
Thank you for your support.
If it isn’t your relationship, it isn’t your business.
Simply put, you don’t know all the details, so don’t be so quick to judge someone.
this is what this forum is for so people can state their opinions on the article which is just want I did! Guess no one should be commenting on here according to you. It is public record that he cheated on his wife, no matter what other details that we don’t know. It is too easy to get divorced now a days if your marriage is not working out, that is my point–no need to break your marriage vows if you choose to be with someone else. I am a supporter of gay marriage, I just found it kind of ironic that a man is supporting it–one who obviously didn’t believe in the sanctuary of man/woman marriages.
Brad has not been unfaithful. His marriage is stable. No one should judge another.
Jersey, not sure where you have been but Brad was unfaithful and is divorced. Not judging him, just stating the fact!
Thanks for the support :)
God’s Word 100%, clearly says Homosexuality [and Lesbianism]
is sin and Homosexuals [and Lesbians] will not go to Heaven
…they will go to Hell. 1 Cor.6:9,10/Rev.21:8.
God’s Word calls homosexuality degrading of the body, shameful,
indecent and perversion!! Romans 1:24-32,
“Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves
up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example
of those who suffer the punishment of Eternal Fire.” Jude 7.
The sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was homosexuality! So according
to God Homosexuals are going to suffer the punishment of Eternal
Fire!! Ouch! [bring a lot of suntan lotion! Ha!].
Jesus condemned homosexuality when speaking about “sexual
immorality” in Mk.7:21-23. This word sexual immorality means,
illicit [immoral, unethical] sex. Whether it is prostitution-sex,
adultery-sex, incest-sex, LESBIAN-sex or HOMOSEXUALITY-sex.
Jesus said sexual immorality [including homosexuality] makes a
man “unclean,defiled and polluted!” Mk.7:23.
Heb.13:4 says, “Keep the marriage bed undefiled, uncontaminated,
unsoiled, for God will judge the sexual immoral.” And as the Bible
defines marriage as between a man and woman in Mt.19:4-6, then
sexual immorality includes LESBIAN and HOMOSEXUALITY
because it is NOT between a man and woman who are married.
God will judge all sex outside of the marriage bed!
Love homosexuals with 100% love…but also tell them the truth so
they can be set free!
Sorry… Your god ain’t law.
And clearly the laws of the United States is not based on a religious text. The document that is the foundation of the laws of the United States is the U.S. Constitution.
Jesus didn’t say a thing about it. I doubt that YOU even live biblically. You want to know why people are turning away from churches? It is people like you. So, really, keep up the good posting… Quoting scripture only entertains your friends.
God condemns rape and victimization, not love. There is nothing sinful or immoral about two people who have found in one another a loving, supportive, lifelong commitment.
In the past there were people who pointed to passages in the bible supporting slavery, as a way of justifying their poor treatment of their fellow man. Your interpretation of scripture is no different— you are ignoring the wonderful message of the Gospel and cherry-picking passages to support and justify your desire to treat Maine families unequally.
I have voted YES on question 1, because God has blessed me with a wonderful, decades-long relationship with my soul mate, and we very much need to protect the life we have built together with civil marriage.
All the best to you and your life partner. I hope this vote gets passed and we all have the same equal rights.
Thanks!
You’re so welcome but, I should be the one to thank you. You have let so much of yourself out there to all of us with so much intelligence, honesty and respect – I admire that and I wish more people were as admirable. :-)
Oops, I wore a cotton shirt with a silk tie to work today. When is my stoning scheduled?
It depends on how ugly the tie is.
Don’t worry, they match.
Do you read the rest of that book or just the parts that make you feel right? You are defining words on your own. They are not defined in the Bible. The sin of Sodom was inhospitality. Either way, this is a democracy not a theocracy. In a theocracy you would be killed for voicing your opinion.
Are you not thankful God is going to be doing all that Judging so you don’t have to?
Spare us those same old LIES about the Bible. Modern Biblical scholars have proven the Bible was intentionally mistranslated relatively recently in order to provide “Biblical cover” for then-rising levels of homophobia. For example, the word “homosexual” didn’t even exist until 1850. Many major Christian and Jewish denominations condemn misusing the hate-based mistranslations to attack their fellow Americans and are marrying same gender American couples now. About 400-years ago, a group of religious authorities (sanctioned by King James I of England), secretly manipulated the English version of the Bible to reflect their own heterosexual attitude; they opposed the king kissing other men in public. But in revised versions, religious authorities re-defined the Greek word “arsenokoites” of 1Corinthians 6:9! The most accurate translation, abusers of themselves with mankind [KJV], was pretty vague. Nevertheless, they replaced this vague 5-worded text with the not so vague and purposely targeted 1-word text, “homosexual(s).” Either way you cut it, this text does not describe homosexuals. This campaign gave those who were looking for a reason to justify their own homophobia a license to openly express their bigotry.
i liked fun.
the difference between african americans and the gay issue is that jeuss
Doesn’t matter.
…didn’t say anything against either?
Oh wait, that would be a similarity.
they will not play in bangor … why?
Dear Mr. Pitt, your money would have been best served if it were put in a fund so when non married couples lose a partner to death they could get their $298.00 death benefit that seems to be so coveted.
What dismissive nonsense! Let me list just a few of the areas of inequity for same-sex couples:
– Social security partner benefits and surviving child benefits
– Tax benefits of filing jointly
– Estate tax — married partners are exempt, but not same-sex couples
– Retirement savings — when a partner dies, the survivor will have tax consequences that a married survivor would not
– Family and medical leave
– COBRA benfits
Well no one will get SSI until 6o except children under 18.
We get more back NOT filing jointly.
We both own everything so does not apply.
Retirement pensions, you can give anyone and tax robbed for everyone.
You don’t need COBRA if your getting SSI and if you work and are under 60 you don’t get anything except for $255.00 .
Wow… amazing.
So, every couple should live like you? Every couple is in the same boat as you?
Really? And why stick all the discussions to “under 60”? Are you hoping to die before then?
There are over 1,100 protections and benefits of marriage.. if you’re not taking advantage of what you have, that’s your issue. And if you don’t feel that the inheritance tax levied against surviving partners to gay citizens is an issue, you should have worked harder for a better retirement.
B.S. On all these alleged one sided rights. I am 60 and the love of my life isn’t wellI WILL NOT get the Big $255.00 death benefit nor any SSI from them . Even tho you have to be married 10 years to get that we’ve been together for over 25 and have birthed or legally adopted children to get SSI benefits since their my kids I’m not taking from anyone else’s retirement to support them, it’s up to me.
Yes everyone can be happy if they live like us, you just need to be happy without a price tag
Or at least that’s what you claim here, from behind your pseudonym…
Just like you…..Oh wait it’s wrong isn’t it, only gays can hid behind a pseudo.
Really?! That’s all you see in marriage protections?
Wow… stunning.
Nope I don’t believe in marriage I could careless about the death benefit it won’t replace the person I love
But the thousands of dollars my partner will have in SS benefits will go back to the government because we are not married. Why cant I have what everyone else does. It is her money.
Anti-gays believe that money will be given to them BECAUSE AS IT STANDS, THEY WILL GET IT. Of course, that makes anti-gays parasites.
We can all be sure Scintillate will have his hand out then, despite this silly denial here.
Your going to be dissappointed. See I work sometimes 3 jobs and have for most of my adult life, So I have paid in my SSI and retirement and I did have a nice savings until my partner got sick but thats whats love is about, takiing care of your own, so I’ll just keep working and my hand is going to be out only for what I paid in. You should try it.
Your the one who whines about all these 1100 rights which all (even tho most are B.S.) are involved in someone elses pocket.
ugh
You’re funny.
brad pitt, who cares.
slept well..thought about it…and oh hell.no!
Why? Voting YES will help same-sex couples in Maine protect the lives they build together.
What good comes from voting no?
they want the government out if there bedroom..but when some of them get sick..they want government to help.pay for them..morals
Why are you obsessed with the bedroom?
Is that all your marriage is to you?
Voting to harm law-abiding, tax-paying citizens is far from moral.
i am not…read it slower so that you c a n. understand it better !I for one do not care what you do in your bedroom..i do not suffer any consequences for what may/may not happen.
So if, as you admit, it has no bearing on your life, why would its passage matter to you in the least.
Sure you do, sweetie, you constantly reveal your own fantasies about “gay sex.” And every time you do, we all just LAUGH at you.
Scientists know why anti-gays are so totally obsessed with “gay sex”:
“Homophobia is apparently associated with homosexual arousal that the homophobic individual is either unaware of or denies.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8772014
No, we want government to treat us equally under the law.
And yes, we do indeed have morals! My family volunteers, donates to charity, and we are there for our neighbors and community when they need us (and they are there for us as well).
there is NO law…marriage is not a law
Yet it is governed by law that is bound by the 14th amendment.
Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The laws that govern marriage currently discriminate against law-abiding, tax-paying citizens.
No one said marriage is a law. Odd that you keep making that statement.
Your fundamental Constitutional knowledge is sorely lacking, Mr. Colby.
Over 1,100 benefits and privileges are extended by our government based on marital status, and much of that cannot be reproduced with any other contract, power-of-attorney, or civil union.
It very much is about equal treatment under the law.
In case you didn’t realize this, straight people get “sick” also from the same diseases! Are you going to damn all those people who get HIV/AIDS including children?
And still have no rational basis for that view, do you?
yes…but you lack the rational to comprehend.nor will you ever.liberals preach tolerance yet all.I get from.liberals is snarky little whines
You have yet to put forward any rational basis for your view that will stand in court.
Thus… you have no rational basis for your views.
No one should tolerate intentional actions intended to harm or discriminate against tax-paying law-abiding citizens.
Gay marriage poses no risk or harm to you… your views do indeed harm families and citizens legally and financially.
Oh, we understand anti-gays all right, we know they want to HURT people they do not know and who have never done anti-gays any harm.
So the only credible advocates are religious leaders? Please.
Gay marriage has polled better and better every year because people are getting smarter and less likely to think that religion has a place in government. It is more clear every year that when gay marriage is legal that Heath and his crew of zealots are going to have to find another issue to live off of. Maybe they will spend the equal time doing what Jesus would have actually WANTED! SO, for THEIR SAKE, please vote yes on one so that Mike Heath can take care of the poor and sick like Jesus would do, because Jesus said nothing about gay marriage or the fact that there are people born with both sexes and there are people born with 2 sets of DNA…
With liberty and justice for all, “Yes” on one.
Brad Pitt? Isn’t he still living with Angelina Jolie? Just wondering why marriage isn’t good enough for him and Angie.
It wasn’t good enough for Nugent all the time either: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Nugent#Family
When you so obsessively demonize people who only seek to be treated equally by our government, you leave no room in your heart for empathy OR Jesus’ love, do you?
Your arguments are the exact same scare tactics we have seen when other groups have asked for their equality. Those tactics were repulsive and un-Christian then, and they’re repulsive and un-Christian now.
Matthew 10:34 should be required reading for those who seek to manipulate the Word of God: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”
That’s mythology, not civil law.
I agree, you should feel shame for how you manipulate the word of God to fuel your judgmental distain.
Just as those who defended slavery by using the bible should have been ashamed.
Y0u are free to live as you will by following the Gospel of Matthew, written by an unnamed, unidentified person who lived nearly a century after Jesus. I will live with charity, compassion, and love, which I believe is buried in the Bible somewhere. Although you’d never know it listening to the fundamentalist church these days.
What did Jesus say about your neighbor? About judging?
God says that homosexual acts are a sin, an abomination!
Who cares?
Your god isn’t our law. It’s just a choice you’ve made.
He also says to kill disrespectful children… do you follow that order as well?
yes son..come here
No he doesn’t. He says rape and victimization are abominations.
God does not condemn love.
you apparently never read the bible..but let other liberals tell you what’s in it..and you think.were the fools…go read it yourself..then come back
Why? Most of what it condemns is perfectly legal within our civil law.
The bible is merely a choice some people make. Nothing more.
Incorrect. I’ve read all of the New Testament, and much of the Old. I have taken years of bible studies, including college level courses at the Christian college I graduated from.
You should open your heart to the spirit of the Gospel, and understand that Jesus commanded us to love one another, leave the judging up to God, and renounce worldly wealth for the more spiritual pursuit of helping those less fortunate.
He certainly did not ever condemn a loving couple because they were gay.
I’ve read it three times through and I’m still looking for your condeming text.
That’s the whole problem for anti-gays, we HAVE read what Jesus said about “love your neighbor” and “don’t judge.”
I say that they aren’t! And…I’m allowed to vote. God isn’t.
He says to kill your insolent children also…..
That’s a LIE. Modern Biblical scholars have proven the Bible was intentionally mistranslated relatively recently in order to provide “Biblical cover” for then-rising levels of homophobia. For example, the word “homosexual” didn’t even exist until 1850. Many major Christian and Jewish denominations condemn misusing the hate-based mistranslations to attack their fellow Americans and are marrying same gender American couples now. About 400-years ago, a group of religious authorities (sanctioned by King James I of England), secretly manipulated the English version of the Bible to reflect their own heterosexual attitude; they opposed the king kissing other men in public. But in revised versions, religious authorities re-defined the Greek word “arsenokoites” of 1Corinthians 6:9! The most accurate translation, abusers of themselves with mankind [KJV], was pretty vague. Nevertheless, they replaced this vague 5-worded text with the not so vague and purposely targeted 1-word text, “homosexual(s).” Either way you cut it, this text does not describe homosexuals. This campaign gave those who were looking for a reason to justify their own homophobia a license to openly express their bigotry.
Do these “modern biblical scholars” have names?
BWAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAA! Brad pitt advocating Marriage.priceless.
Yeah, it’s kinda like Newt Gingrich talking about gay marriage being bad for the “sanctity of marriage”.
Way to go!! Many thanks to the band and to Brad for standing up and supporting gay rights! Everyone deserves the chance to marry who they want and these bible thumpers need to understand that homosexuality has been here and is not going away and they need to respect this. How is gay marriage going to effect their marriages? I don’t get their logic… Vote Yes on 1!!!
I really needed a laugh this morning. Thanks for the help.
Sorry it will not change my vote
Why are you voting no?
What good will come from it?
Only BAD will come from a “no” vote–BAD is what anti-gays want, bad for all Americans.
Who cares what Brad the Pitt thinks about anything?
So, let me get this straight- Brad Pitt, who has fathered 3 kids and adopted 3 others, without being married to their mother, is now an advocate for marriage???????? I have a hard time swallowing someone who apparently doesn’t believe in traditional marriage telling me I should support gay marriage. Sorry, Brad, you need to take a hike back to your live-in girlfriend because you, sir, are a hypocrite.
They plan to get married as soon as ALL people can marry. They still are in a family unit and always have been. They didnt need the supports that most do so they stayed unmarried. Dont criticize. They are good people.
It must really bother you that so many Americans are opposing the efforts of the few remaining anti-gays to SUBVERT the United States Constitution’s guarantee of “Equal Protection Under the Law.”
And I’m supposed to believe a guy like Newt Gingrich when he tells me to protect the “sanctity of marriage”? Sounds like you’re just as much of a hypocrite.
Took the words right out of my mouth.
Pitt is nothing like Newt. Brad did not cheat and lie. He was married once, divorced and has been with Angelina for years. Emrich on the other hand cheated on his wife, was kicked out of his church and urged Ugandans to kill gay people or those suspected of being gay or not turning in their gay family members.
Brad Pitt has said that he will not marry until everyone has the right to.
I just want to add that it’s very simple and painless to vote. So please vote. Don’t miss your opportunity to voice your opinion.
Even if you’ve just moved to Maine, you can register with your out-of-state license and a checkbook with your Maine address on it.
<3
“On an issue as important as marriage, I’m confident that Mainers will give more credence to the Rev. Billy Graham and Bishop Richard Malone, who support traditional marriage, in comparison to a band called fun.,” said Hutson.
Now the good CINO is criticizing a man for his choice of profession. The CINO is laughing and acting as though the band is less than the millionaire preacher? This is why I vote yes. These people cannot speak for God. There is no way God condones hating their neighbors and judging.
Gay marriage is legal in 6 states, but having sex with a horse is legal in 23.
Making many here very very happy.
Would make them even happier if I mentioned Cousins and Sisters.
Especially since first cousins can wed in Maine…
You say that YOU want to rape your cousins and sisters?
Comparing loving, committed same gender Mainer couples to sex with a horse is hate speech, and it also reveals YOUR fetish. I hope you don’t have any horses.
I’m a strong supporter of Same Sex Marriage. I’m was not comparing, simply stating “what is wrong with this picture?” when in 23 States it is legal to have sex with a horse while it is only legal in 6 for Gay couples to wed.
Do not be so quick to assume.
WRGAF?
We once bought a lot of land which had a small concrete foundation about six feet deep. I suppose was meant to be a small addition to a house which had stood on the property. In the spring we found a baby skunk trapped in the space. He saw us and immediately backed up and with tail up stomped his small hind legs trying to produce his “defense” which he was incapable of at that time because of nature. He stomped and stomped to no avail. Now same sex marriage activists for good reason fail to mention nature and how man and woman complement each other naturally. It doesn’t matter how one “feels” because no matter how one “stomps their feet” a man is not a woman and a woman is not a man. Marriage completes the natural union of man and woman. This is not religious but nature. I do not know why some folks are attracted to the same sex and I do not deny that some are. It is not genetic and from readings I have not found professionals giving a reason other than “may be it’s hormones in the mother’s womb, etc.”
I would think that before one casts a vote to redefine marriage he/she would hestitate if you are being swayed purely on anecdotal ads. Have you seen any ad other than anecdotal such as a member of my family is or my friend is gay and in love etc.?
Our government should treat us equally under the laws around civil marriage, regardless of our personal opinions on this issue. That’s the right thing to do.
As for your anecdotes about stomping skunks… there are same-sex couples raising children across Maine today, and they aren’t going to disappear from existence no matter how you vote. We should absolutely offer them the ability to protect their families with civil marriage! Children deserve to grow up in households with two parents.
mom n??? dad ??
Or two of the same sex…
Considering 40% of children are born into single-parent households, your refusal to allow them two parents of any gender is sick.
Excuse me. I have a friend who is a single parent who has adopted a child. They are doing perfectly well.
Good for them! I’m speaking about the two parent households who are currently discriminated against for civil marriage benefits.
Convivial didn’t try to HURT your friend or her daughter, but YOU are trying to HURT the Mainer children of same gender Mainer parents. WHY? WHY do you want to HURT their children?
Biology is not the issue.
If it is, you need to annul all childless marriages. If you do not, you’re a hypocrite of the highest magnitude.
Who mentioned children Mr.Badkey? There you go again….misinformation and namecalling. Typical and sad especially when you have no answers.
If your argument is not procreation, then the whole “natural” thing is a ruse, and nothing more.
Well, of course that anti-gay poster was lying. That’s the only way they can fool voters into helping them HURT the children of same gender Mainer couples.
Just WHO claims same gender couples “don’t procreate”? The Child Welfare League of America says there are at least NINE MILLION children of same gender parents.
“Question: How Many Children Have Gay Parents in the US?
According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, between 8 and 10 million children are being raised in gay and lesbian families.”
http://adoption.about.com/od/gaylesbian/f/gayparents.htm
” A 1995 National Health and Social Life Survey by E.O. Lauman found that up to nine million children in America have gay or lesbian parents (Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, 2002). ”
http://www.cwla.org/programs/culture/glbtqposition.htm
Before some anti-gay tells that standard anti-gay LIE that same gender parents are somehow inferior to mixed-sex parents:
“A growing body of scientific literature demonstrates that children who grow up with 1 or 2 gay and/or lesbian parents fare as well in emotional, cognitive, social, and sexual functioning as do children whose parents are heterosexual. Children’s optimal development seems to be influenced more by the nature of the relationships and interactions within the family unit than by the particular structural form it takes.”
http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;109/2/341
Then why are one in every 1500 births born with both gender? Marriage has been made a civil issue when certain rights are given above others. No one is looking for religious ceremony. There is n0 proof it is not genetic however there is proof pointing toward that it is and several studies show that it is.
This poster is simply lying. Sexual orientation, whether gay or non-gay, has been shown by science to be inborn and unchangeable, and psychologists have shown being gay or lesbian is just as healthy and “normal” as being non-gay. Here are several respected websites (and a citation from Fox News for the doubters) that document this:
http://www-news.uchicago.edu/releases/03/differential-brain-activation.pdf
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/sex/dn14146-gay-brains-structured-like-those-of-the-opposite-sex.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155990,00.html
http://www.livescience.com/health/060224_gay_genes.html
http://www.springerlink.com/content/w27453600k586276/
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/80beats/2008/06/16/172/
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/jun/17/science/sci-gaybrain17
http://psych.fullerton.edu/rlippa/bbc_birthorder.htm
http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12465295
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2006/06/26/brothers=gay.html
http://www.medpagetoday.com/OBGYN/Pregnancy/3641
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080617151845.htm
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local&id=6209976
http://www.apa.org/topics/sorientation.html
Sad to say, anti-gays admit constantly that the ONLY way they can fool voters into voting to HURT loving, committed same gender Mainer couples is by lying and trying to demonize and dehumanize LGBT Americans by comparing us to SKUNKS.
Mr. Badkey again another namecalling session. It seems within my post I acknowledged that I do not deny that same sex are attracted to each other. I read APA and being exposed to extra hormones within the womb was cited as a possible cause. If I wanted I could list hundreds of sites to contradict you but that seems rather silly. You are a bit over the top if you think my post intimates that LGBT are skunks. It was used to illustrate only that one can “stomp and stomp” (just as you are doing now) to try to convince others that a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man to justify “marriage.” just as that cute little skunk tried to produce what it could not.
I will not let you call me names such as your post has without responding. You are not at all helping your cause.
Now you have the evening to gather all your group from over the US with their multiple id’s to post nastigrams but I am going to settle in with a good book.
Each one of these sites you mention is known to be an anti-gay group passing out LIES, that’s why you DO NO post them. It is NOT name-calling to point out you lied, it’s just a fact. No use trying to sweeten up your skunk hate speech. But thanks for admitting there’s no point in your posting more anti-gay lies.
You left out where God condones homosexual acts in the Bible! What passage was that again?….
The passage that says, “with Liberty and Justice for all.” Oh wait, that’s from the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America.
Well then, we might as well lynch ’em all if that’s the case. Unbelievable that you think this way! Sad, really…
It stays in the pot for those who work and pay in to get back when they retire. Bush I believe tried to “privatize” SSI. No one wanted it and voted it down. Of course had it gone through it would have reduced the amount by a lot. Why should you vet their money you must work and bs e your own
Why are you hung up on SSI?
Survivor benefits are only one of over 1,000 protections and benefits of marriage, whether you and yours choose to acknowledge them or not.
Anti-gays know that same gender American couples are being ripped off currently by being denied the same rights as other Americans. Compare two couples with similar incomes, and the mixed-sex couple will get MUCH MORE of their own money back than the same gender couple. Anti-gays want to make sure loving, committed same gender American couples continue to SUBSIDIZE anti-gays and their “lifestyle choices.”
I’m not, but it’s the biggest complaint the pro gay marriage whine has been about all other issues can be easily remedied by anyone.
I left half of my retirement fund to a same sex sib, no one asked me if they were my lover. I left the half to my pard and was not asked if they were my lover, NO ONE told me I couldn’t leave anything to anyone of the same sex.
A sibling… Something a same sex partner cannot claim.
Look up the DOMA case where the surviving same sex partner was saddled with a $300k tax bill when her partner died. Something that would not, nay COULD not, have happened to a married spouse.
You are missing so much of what this all means. SSI be damned.
No use denying you are “hung up” on marriage equality, Scintillate. You post at each and every of these stories. You’re totally obsessed with something that is really none of your business. It isn’t just LGBT Americans that wish you and every other anti-gay would just shut up.
Now.now carrot head relax and.be tolerant! trying to force your thinking on us…his about you just respect our thoughts??!! I do not care what you do.in.the.privacy in your bedroom…just don’t throw it in our face..your right to be you dies not negate MY right to be free from you!
Nobody’s forcing anything on you.
You’re here because you want to be exposed to this.
If not, then go away.
Stuff a carrotcake in your mouth, perhaps if you didn’t lie so much people wouldn’t respond with truthful comments.
How many people is it your pretending to be on this blog? I do believe it’s 4 or is it more?
You don’t post at every one of “these” blogs do you, oh that’s right you have 4 different handles you hide behind. Why don’t you list them so everyone else will know and know that you ” stuff” your own” like” boxes……
When you go to vote, expecially if you are on the fence….Please, ask yourself this question. If my child came home and announce that he or she was gay and in love with someone of the same sex, what would you do? How would you react? and What kind of life would you want them to have? If you can look past your religious beliefs that have been brainwashed into you, and think of your child and the bond that you share, I am sure you will come up with the right decision and vote accordingly. Love is not always found, when it is, we should celebrate and nurture it, not discriminate against it.
Brad Pitt holy moly!!! gay marriage peeps are pulling out the big gunz now! i’m sure it will sway a few idiots into voting for it that prob wouldn’t have. NO ON ONE !
Why vote no?
Why not! why are you babbling to sway people to YOUR way of thinking? not very tolerant !
Presenting my point of view is intolerance? I am not seeking to deny anyone civil marriage, nor stand in the way of their equal treatment under our laws at all…
What good will come of such a vote?
Is that what they program you to say?
Is that what they program you to respond with?
Got no answer, do you?
nope on one no broke back mainers here,and before you respond i want you to know i dont care what you have to say,i have better things to do unlike you.
If you did, you wouldn't be here.
Do you take pleasure in hurting loving, committed same gender Mainer couples this “easy way”?
then marry a woman
My grandmother was a devoted Catholic (a Nun in fact for a few years in her youth) and that is how she raised her children. She was a kind and gentle woman and she would be rolling in her grave today seeing what her “religious comrads” are posting about their anti-gay views. She would never say one bad word about this nor to any gay individual – she would embrase them and the love they share with another human being and be joyous in their civil union. You should be ashamed of yourselves for acting this way… Oh and BTW: God loves ALL of his children (for you religious folks), gay or straight!
Wonderful post. My God too loves all His people and would refuse no one who came to His table. Bless your grandmother and her love of people and her belief in civil unions. Thank you for sharing this story.
Sad to say, amiyalouise has a really crude way of expressing love. She referred to her fellow Mainers who just want the SAME right she already takes for granted as SKUNKS.
ROMNEY / RYAN 2012 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
People! YGTBSM! (Google it and “Wild Weasel.”)
Who cares what these flake entertainers say (or do for that matter!)
And, if everyone cut through all the propaganda surrounding this subject to the real objective of the promoters of the effort (which is to cram their views down the throats of everyone in the USA whether they agree or not), it would never have gotten on the ballot in the first place!
Also before all proponents start burning up their keyboards in response to me, I have programmed my “junk” mail filter to trash any such message!
Good night!
maybe we should outlaw movie stars who dont have a voting voice in maine ,who gives a damn what they think,besides 90% of them end up divorced,wonder what gay divorce is going to look like and how much paper work this is going to cost the taxpayers. Think before you vote cause this could be your money wasted on this grand fad that is a mistake,kinda like roller blades lasted a while but no one has the First pair they ever had
NOM doesn’t have a voting voice in Maine.
Outlaw them too?
what about gay divorce whats the cost of that and who gets the kids,?so on and so forth all good questions but no answer’s and no mention of it ? i like an answer ?
No different than any other divorce.