Maine Legislature Votes to Support Same-sex Marriage

The decision is now up to Govenor John Baldacci of Maine after the senate voted in support of same-sex 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 Tuesday. The legislation didn't get enough votes to override a veto from Gov. John Baldacci, a Democrat who has not indicated whether he'll sign the bill.

If  the governor passes this law it would make Maine the fifth state in New England to pass a law supporting same-sex marriage. New Hampshire is also in the process of passing a similar  bill.  

Republican Sen. Debra Plowman said that the bill was being passed "at the expense of the people of faith." I think this is completely wrong. Just because a person is religious doesn't mean they are against same-sex marriages. This is concerning a law for the government not a law for the church. In our country we are suppose to have separation of church and state. Our lawmakers should not be making decisions based on religious reasons. 

I wish that the rest of the country would look to New England as an example. We need to follow their forward thinking and embrace the future of our country. Our country has always put down a group of people for many different reasons. We need to step back and see that that is what is going on now and take the right steps to change it. 

Miss USA runner up, Carrie Prejean is speaking out against gay marriage because she got a controversial question and lost the title at the miss USA competition. She is now involved in an ad campaign that speaks out against gay marriage.

"This is not about me. It's about the future of marriage," she said Thursday. "It's about my children and my children's children. It's about me standing up for something I'm extremely passionate about." The ad centers on the hostile reaction to Prejean's answer, asserting that she was "attacked viciously for having the courage to speak up for her truth and her values"

I don't think she is really upset about gay marriage at all. She may have strong feelings against it but I don't think she is a passionate about it as she is appearing. She is just upset that she didn't win Miss USA so now she is going after the people she blames it on. 

She is Miss California, so she should have expected a question about this issue, or at least seen it as a possibility. She is suppose to be representing her state and this is a big issue in California.  

And of course she isn't going to win the Miss USA crown when she answers a question the way she did. There are many ways to answer controversial questions without causing any issue. Politicians do it all the time. That is what the person who wins Miss USA should be able to do. Even though she had a harder question then the other candidates, she should have been able to say what she believed but put a spin on it so she wouldn't cause a problem.  But instead she gave an answer she knew would cause a lot of drama and cause her the crown. She deserves to not win.

Nh votes in favor of gay marriage

Today, New Hampshire has become the 5th state to legalize gay marriage. 

Governor John Lynch has not indicated if he will veto the bill, which passed the Senate by a vote of 13-11 and would make New Hampshire the fifth state in the nation where gay marriage is legal. But the Democrat has expressed opposition to it. It has already passed the state's House of Representatives.

Governor Lynch should support what the house and the senate have decided. This is the way our country is moving and he should recognize and support that. Our country was based on principles that support people having the freedom to do anything with their life as long as it doesn't harm others. Same-sex marriage dose not harm anyone. Just because two men or two women love each other and want to spend the rest of their lives with each other in no way makes marriage itself any less meaningful.  

The house and the senate have both come to this realization during their voting process. The governor  should see and respect that.  He should not veto this bill. More states need to follow this example and step up  and take our country in the direction of acceptance instead of hate.