With Maine, 10 Percent of States Recognize Gay Marriage

Earlier today, Maine Gov. John Baldacci signed LD 1020, An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom, into law, making Maine the fifth state to do so.

In a press release, Baldacci, a Democrat, eloquently discussed the arc of his decision:

"In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions," Baldacci said. "I have 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."

"Article I in the Maine Constitution states that 'no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person's civil rights or be discriminated against.'"

"This new law does not force any religion to recognize a marriage that falls outside of its beliefs. It does not require the church to perform any ceremony with which it disagrees. Instead, it reaffirms the separation of Church and State," Baldacci said.

"It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine's civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government."

Baldacci's shift, from favoring civil unions and opposing gay marriage, is important because conservatives from Rudy Giuliani to Miss California have taken refuge behind "centrist" Democrats' fallback position. The Republicans plan to make gay marriage an issue in the midterms, so a lot more Democrats are going to need to have a "come to Jesus" moment on gay marriage.

I spoke with Baldacci at the DNCC in Denver this past August, and while we didn't talk about gay marriage, he did discuss Maine's strong independent streak. It's impossible to tell now, but that streak may bode well for gay marriage and the challenges it will surely face.

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