So goes Maine so goes the nation, oh I hope not.
The Associated Press has reported that Maine Governor John Baldacci has signed a bill approving gay marriage, making it the fifth sate in the nation to approve the marriage of homosexuals.
The New Hampshire legislature is also poised to send a gay marriage bill to their governor. John Lynch, a Democrat. If New Hampshire approves homosexual marriage, Rhode Island will be the only state in New England opposing gay marriage.
The Maine Senate voted 21-13, with one absent, for a bill that authorizes marriage between any two people rather than between one man and one woman, as state law currently allows. The House had passed the bill yesterday.
Democratic Gov. John Baldacci, who hadn't previously indicated how he would handle the bill, signed it shortly afterward. In the past, he said he opposed gay marriage but supported civil unions, which provide many of the benefits of marriage.
Debate in the Maine Senate was brief. Senate President Elizabeth Mitchell, a Democrat, turned the gavel over to an openly gay legislator, Sen. Lawrence Bliss, also a Democrat, to preside over the final vote.
Sen. Debra Plowman, a Republican, argued that the bill was being passed "at the expense of the people of faith."
"You are making a decision that is not well-founded," warned Plowman.
Senate Majority Leader Philip Bartlett II, a Democrat, said the bill does not compel religious institutions to recognize gay marriage.
"We respect religious liberties. ... This is long overdue," said Bartlett.
Maine is now the fourth state in New England, to allow same-sex marriages. Connecticut enacted a bill after being ordered to allow gay marriages by the courts, and Vermont passed a bill over the governor's veto.
Massachusetts' high court ordered the state to recognize gay marriages. In Rhode Island, a bill to legalize same-sex marriage has been introduced but is not expected to pass.
Outside New England, Iowa is recognizing gay marriages by court order. The practice was briefly legal in California before voters banned it.
Marriage between men and women has existed since the beginning of civilization and has always been viewed as the union of male and female.
Shame on Gov. John Baldacci and the Democratic Party.
The American Conservative Republican is strongly opposed to this reckless experiment of redefining marriage and the family. Homosexuality is a life style choice and a perversion. The Democrats that support gay marriages are merely pandering for votes and campaign contributions from the gay community at the expense of the foundation of American society, which is the traditional family.
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