Evil Queers Eliminating Marriage in Maine

. . . at least, that's the way some hardcore Christianist wingnuts see it. The Maine House of Representatives this morning passed a marriage equality bill by 89 to 58; the measure passed the state Senate last week by 21 to 14. Governor Balducci is uncommitted but might be leaning towards signing the bill into law, as noted last week. If he signs the bill, Maine would become the fifth state to allow gays to marry.

Sounds like another victory coming up, right? Well, don't pop your corks just yet, guys, it's not a done deal. According to Tips-Q:

If the governor signs the bill into law, opponents are expected to organize a campaign under Maine’s people’s veto law to force a repeal referendum. Polls have shown Mainers to be split on the question.

Maine voters are authorized in the Maine Constitution to use the process of veto referendum to challenge laws recently passed by the Maine State Legislature. In Maine, this process is known as the "People's Veto".

According to the laws governing the initiative & referendum process in Maine, the required number of valid signatures to put a People's Veto on the ballot is set at 10% of the number of votes cast for the office of Governor of Maine in the most recent gubernatorial election. Gubernatorial elections are held in Maine every four years; the most recent gubernatorial election was in 2006 when 550,870 total votes were cast for the office of governor.

Of the 27 veto referenda that have qualified for the ballot since the first qualified for the 1910 ballot, Maine voters have rejected 15 acts of the Maine legislature and upheld (or ratified) 12 statutes.

The Maine Family Policy Council, formerly the Christian Civic League, has posted this reaction to today's vote:

Maine's Legislature will eliminate civil marriage by the end of May. We have started a People's Veto. Please pray that God will intervene. He is our best hope. God has not forgotten about Maine. Even though things seem grim He may yet be gracious toward us. Senator Dennis Damon wants to eliminate Maine's Defense of Marriage Act. It was created by referendum in 1997. 60,000 Mainers signed petitions demanding that Marriage be protected. Now, 186 politicians in Augusta want to ignore the will of the people ... again. Maine people twice rejected "gay" rights in the past decade. Homosexuality is very sad, and sinful. Maine must not create a culture that winks at something so debilitating on so many levels. To present this "orientation" as benign to impressionable children is the height of arrogance, and surely qualifies as evil.

You got a problem with that, bub? Their head honcho of that outfit, Mike Heath, says "all we do is loving and true" - as you can see:

Problem is, this guy's head is stuck up his ass . . . oops, I mean, stuck in the 1950's. He and millions of others have not advanced in their thinking one little bit beyond the mindless, hysterical hatred of "homos" evidenced in the Boys Beware film I posted yesterday. Now that's what's truly sad and sinful: as Olbermann described Rep. Virginia Foxx last week, another case of being "criminally misinformed" - and so very, very self-righteous about it, too.

God loves me and my family, and hates you and your family: that's what it all boils down to.

So will Heath and his righteous hordes make Maine the new California by overturning marriage equality there? Stay tuned for the next installment in this North Woods saga, boys.