2 Maine newspapers: Preserve gay marriage

Two of the state's largest papers voice editorial support

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Supporters of Maine’s same-sex marriage law picked up editorial support from two of Maine’s largest newspapers last weekend.

The Maine Sunday Telegram and weekend edition of the Bangor Daily News both urged voters to reject Question 1, which calls for repeal of the gay marriage law that was enacted last May.

The Telegram says limiting marriage to a man and a woman “would not make families led by same-sex couples go away,” but just keep them in a legally inferior position.

The News says in Saturday’s editorial that extending the right of marriage to a small segment of the population that has been excluded furthers Maine’s interest in promoting stable families and communities.

>>>http://www.washblade.com/2009/10-23/news/national/15425.cfm

It looks like most of the grassroots support in Maine is in favor of gay marriage.
"http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/10/despite-claims-anti-gay-group-in-maine.html"
FiveThirtyEight.com points out that the anti-gay efforts are getting almost 2/3rds of their financial support from out-of-state contributors, and most of that from a single anti-gay lobbying group. These two newspapers are probably just in tune with their readership.

Maine marriage to be decided by ‘razor-thin election’

Electorate to vote Nov. 3 on whether to retain gay nuptials

One year after California’s electorate ended same-sex marriage in the Golden State, voters in Maine are preparing to decide whether to allow gay nuptials. To avoid another defeat, supporters of same-sex marriage were ramping up their grassroots efforts in advance of Tuesday’s vote on the proposed “people’s veto.”

Only if the initiative, known as Question 1, fails can same-sex couples marry in Maine.

Jesse Connolly, campaign manager for “No on 1,” said his campaign is working on identifying supporters of same-sex marriage and ensuring they make it to the polls.

“I think that we’re in as best a position as we could have hoped for heading into the final week, but we’re taking nothing for granted,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do and we’re continuing to execute all that work.”

More at...

>>>http://www.washblade.com/2009/10-30/news/national/15475.cfm