May 08, 2009  |  By: Chris Johnson  | COMMENTS     

Maine’s governor this week signed into law a bill legalizing same-sex marriage, but prospects of a “people’s veto” are raising doubts about whether gay couples will soon enjoy marriage rights in the state.

In a statement Wednesday, Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) said he signed the bill because he had “come to believe that this is a question of fairness and of equal protection under the law, and that a civil union is not equal to civil marriage.”

“I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully,” he said. “I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste.”

Baldacci noted that the law doesn’t “force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs” and “guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws.”

State lawmakers approved the legislation in both chambers after hours of debate. The vote in the Maine Senate on April 30 was 21-14, while the vote in the House on Tuesday was 89-57.

To encourage Baldacci to sign the legislation, Betsy Smith, executive director of Equality Maine, said her organization asked supporters of same-sex marriage in Maine to send postcards to state lawmakers in support of the marriage bill, which Equality Maine then copied to the governor.

Smith said her organization sent 10,000 postcards to the governor last week, and has yet to send 40,000 more that it had prepared. She said it was unlikely that she’d send the remaining postcards to the governor now that he’s signed the bill.

But even though Baldacci signed the legislation, the bill will not take effect until 90 days after the legislature ends its session on June 17. If opponents of same-sex marriage gather enough petition signatures for a “people’s veto” before that time, the legislation will not take effect until after the electorate casts its vote.

Depending on how soon petition signatures are submitted to Maine’s secretary of state, voters would have an opportunity to reject the bill on either Nov. 3, the day of the next general election, or June 27, 2010, the day of the statewide primary election. A majority vote is necessary to invalidate the measure through a “people’s veto.”

Smith said the threshold for getting enough signatures is low — only 55,087 names are needed. She earlier told the Blade that “there will undoubtedly” be a referendum on the same-sex marriage legislation, but added that Equality Maine is “fully prepared to run and win that campaign.”

Should the marriage law in Maine remain in place, the state would join Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa and Vermont as having legalized same-sex marriage.

Smith noted that domestic partnerships would remain in place even if the marriage Maine law stays on the books. She also said there’s no residency requirement for marriage in Maine.

When the bill came to the House floor in Maine, the House approved the measure only after hours of debate.

Rep. Jim Martin, a gay Democrat, said laws should not be created that would keep people away from loving, monogamous relationships. He said passage of the legislation would enable him to marry his partner legally after they had a commitment ceremony almost 10 years ago.

“I’m hoping that on that 10th anniversary, we’ll be able to make it legal,” he said.

Another Democrat, Rep. Diane Russell, tearfully announced her support for the bill while declaring that she disagrees with the assertion that allowing gay people to wed will undermine marriage.

She acknowledged that passing the bill would come at some financial cost — at least to her.

“If this bill passes, I have no idea how, on my measly salary, I’m going to afford the sheer number of wedding gifts that I will need to buy,” she said. She went on to note that her vote in favor of the legislation would be her wedding gift to gay people who will marry in the state.

But other lawmakers were steadfast in their opposition. Rep. Michael Thibodeau, a Republican, invoked President Obama’s position that marriage should be between one man and one woman as a reason to vote against the bill.

“President Obama would not be opposing same-sex marriage if it were a civil rights issue,” he said. Thibodeau added that the legislation really “isn’t about civil rights,” but about a “social agenda that tears at the ...