“What is the difference between a man and a woman getting married and two men or two women getting married?” she asked the crowd of about 60 attendees. “It’s that Y chromosome or lack thereof in one of the partners. Who cares about Y chromosomes?”
"We will not stop, and we will not give up until we have equality for all,” she added.
Carroll says she cried on election night when Question 1 passed. If this is a sign of our future, then a bright future we will have.
Jesse Connolly, the NO on 1 campaign manager, recently wrote on the Huffington Post, examining what he believes happened in Maine.
It's clear that polling research, both ours and others, did not capture the intensity of Yes on 1 support. Polling cannot predict turnout and the impact of Tuesday's turnout was counterintuitive. We weren't alone: our opponents, political observers and field operatives all believed a high turnout benefited the NO on 1 vote. With voting approaching 60% in Maine, it's clear that wasn't true.
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I'm not skirting anything here when I suggest that we need to remember that it was not long ago when we were losing in double digits, when they threw an anti-marriage equality question on a ballot in a presidential year to drive conservatives to the polls.
It may turn out to be simply this: that by moving this basic premise of equality from the sink hole of catastrophic defeat state after state, year after year, to within striking distance of a win, that we are almost to the finish line. This tide is turning and you can tell by the histrionics from our opponents, from their "gathering storm."
Jesse also references how entrenched people are in their views on marriage equality, and how difficult it is to change people's minds in a matter of months during a short, initiative campaign.
This just underlines my opinion and push for long-term educational campaigns. During these campaigns, you don't have a time constraint, you don't have a looming vote hanging over voters heads who experience the pressure of two sides pounding their messages unto them. They're more open, more willing to listen, even if they don't necessarily agree.
It's during these educational campaigns that we can have the conversations with those who right now may not be for us, the conversations that Jesse refers to that are so desperately needed. Many believe that an educational campaign is a cop out to going back to the ballot. It's not. It's the foundation for a vote. It's the hard, scary work of endless hours without a definite vote in the future. But without this hard work, a victory at the inevitable ballot becomes further out of reach.
In a great article examining what happened to bring about Maine's passage of Question 1, which threw out the state's new marriage equality law, the Bangor Daily News takes a look at who voted and how the two opposing campaigns convinced their supporters to vote.
The map below delineates the different parts of the state and how they voted on Question 1.
Opinions may differ on particular strategies. But the unofficial results show that, as with many other cultural issues, whether Mainers voted for or against same-sex marriage largely depended on where they call home.
Rural Maine voted heavily to overturn Maine’s law allowing gay and lesbian couples to wed.
In the most extreme example, 73 percent of the nearly 27,000 Aroostook County voters who cast ballots voted “yes” on Question 1. Roughly two-thirds of voters in Piscataquis, Somerset and Washington counties also favored repeal.
The opposite was true in many of Maine’s more populated areas.
In Cumberland County, 60 percent of voters opposed the repeal and in Portland, Maine’s largest city, that figure swelled to 73.5 percent. Roughly 54 percent of voters in Bangor and Scarborough cast votes against the repeal of the same-sex marriage law.
Gay marriage also had strong support in college towns, picking up 73 percent of voters in Orono and 63 percent in Brunswick.
One notable exception to the rural-urban divide was in the heavily Roman Catholic and Franco-American neighborhoods of Lewiston and Auburn, where 59 percent and 54 percent of voters, respectively, favored the repeal.
University of Maine political scientist Amy Fried pointed out that those returns were a change from 2005, when Lewiston voted in favor of preserving anti-discrimination laws protecting Maine’s gay and lesbian residents.
Fried was also intrigued by the partisan message — or lack thereof — in the 2009 referenda.
Two anti-tax measures failed while changes to the state’s medical marijuana laws passed — all of which Fried said could suggest a strong turnout among more liberal-minded Mainers. But the defeat of gay marriage could suggest a strong conservative presence at the polls, she said.
“That’s if you want to think of it in those terms, and maybe we shouldn’t in Maine because we are ticket-splitters,” she said.
Coastal counties were typically more evenly divided. The exceptions were Waldo County, where the Yes campaign won 54 percent, and Hancock County, where the No camp won 53 percent.
It is very puzzling that the voters chose to support medical marijuana while at the same time voting against LGBT civil rights.
Ideology, partisanship and religion are usually strong indicators of how someone will vote, and using that formula, many believed we would win in Maine, but the voting results indicate a vast sea of the unknown. You can point out that the populated areas voted in our favor, but that doesn't always happen - Los Angeles County voted in favor of Prop 8. Marriage equality has never won at the ballot, having failed 31 times. We have yet to crack the nut to victory.
The NO on 1 campaign learned a lot from California's Proposition 8, applying the most obvious lessons learned by placing gay and lesbian couples in ads to tell their stories and appeal to voters to support equality for all. They were fast to respond to the opposition (though how effective these responses were is still up to debate), outspent them, and were on the air with ads two weeks before the Yes on 1.
But it wasn't enough.
Another head scratcher is the fact that Maine is one of the most secular states in the country. Though the Catholic Church wields great power in the state, a majority of Mainers don't self-identify as very religious.
According to a report by FollowTheMoney.org, which breaks down the major contributors to both campaigns, the Yes on 1 campaign was mostly funded by the Dioecese of Maine and conservative organizations. Their fast facts:
58 percent of the total raised by Maine's Question 1 opponents in 2009 flowed into the state from donors around the country--the same amount proponents raised in total. Regardless, the proponents prevailed: voters repealed same-sex marriage.
Gay-marriage advocates raised money from more than 10,000 donors--12 times more than opponents reported. Question 1 passed despite the numbers imbalance, banning same-sex marriage in Maine.
The campaign for Question 1, the successful push to repeal gay marriage in Maine, was funded almost entirely by churches and conservative organizations.
This comes as no surprise, nor should it to Mainers - it was loudly proclaimed that the Catholic Church was largely behind Yes on 1. Yet despite these fast facts, Mainers still sided with the church.
So what does this tell us moving forward? That we cannot rely on the old standards that those who are liberal or secular will vote for LGBT equality. That centuries of society-approved discrimination and slander of the LGBT population is still entrenched in many minds, even those that appear open-minded or self-aware, forcing the hands of voters to choose in favor of their fear and ignorance and vote against us.
Voters are rarely open to hearing a campaign's message during an initiative battle. Most of the time they have made up their minds already (while telling pollsters that they are open-minded and will vote for equality, a "Bradley Effect" of sorts that Nate Silver explains well.) People then dig into their positions and prepare for battle.
However, people are more open to hearing other opinions and positions when there isn't a raging referendum pounding at them. That's why educational campaigns are so important and so different from initiative campaigns. They exist to inform, discuss and portray the LGBT population to those who know nothing about us, while not pushing a message that they must vote for us. In time, voters' fears of what, up to this point for them, is the "unknown" becomes known and less threatening. So when the time for a ballot initiative does roll around, they're more apt to vote in favor of LGBT rights.
This doesn't happen over night. It can take years. Equality Maine has done years of educational work, and we still lost. But only by 5.6%! The margin is narrowing. I believe that margin would have been much greater if it wasn't for their outreach.
Wayne Besen has suggested that maybe a whole new strategy should be considered and not engage in degrading ballot initiatives at all (and another post). And though I agree that these referendums are unconstitutional and that maybe we should simply focus on the courts and legislature, in the meantime, we have initiatives staring us in the face.
Here in California, Courage Campaign, Equality California and Vote For Equality are all doing educational work, laying the foundation for a future initiative. Whether we go to the ballot in 2010 or 2012, we have a lot of work to do, and not a lot of time to do it. Yes on Prop 8 did a lot of damage and a lot of Californians now believe the campaign's lies as if they were gospel. If the pattern holds of failing at the ballot, we may not succeed in time in California with our educational work by either proposed year.
But charge ahead we must.
A lot of the times, we fail to keep ads with out faces on the air, to keep the radio alive with our voices. It's hard to get these messages funded when there's no impending vote, but we have to figure it out. We have to constantly remind the populace that we are here, we aren't going away, and we're deserving of equal rights. And as I've said, voters will be more willing to listen when we're not tossing attack ads back and forth. If they're willing to listen, imagine what we can accomplish!
The old adage of changing hearts and minds by telling our stories still holds true, and that is what an educational campaign is for. We do this by either talking to our neighbors, co-workers, friends and family, or to perfect strangers by knocking on doors during canvasses, or through phone calls at a phone banks. It takes patience, especially if we know a vote isn't coming soon. And it's probably the scariest thing we'll ever have to do - allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, in the face of those who may very well vote against us, or even worse, hate us, talking to each of them . . . one at a time. This can be terrifying in fact. Yet it is key to victory.
No one said the fight for equal rights was going to be easy.
Image of NO on 1 campaign manager Jesse Connolly by Rex Wockner.
New Yorkers held a rally in Union Square on Wednesday night protesting Question 1's success in Maine. Currently, New York's Senate is supposed to vote on the state's marriage equality bill, but whether or not they will vote is still up in the air.
This MSNBC report is causing quite a stir due to the fact that the reporter used the anti-LGBT jargon "traditional marriage." However, the report itself does a good job of showing the consequences of Maine's Question 1. It includes an interview with a lesbian couple.
Contessa Brewer continues her reporting by interviewing Bishop Harry Jackson, the face of the opposition to same-sex marriage in Washington D.C. She asks the pertinent question, "People seem so energized to go out and fight same-sex marriage. why aren't they spending all that energy fighting divorce?" What a lame, hypocritical response.
She also brings up the half million the Catholic Church spent in Maine. Want to see who contributed? Go here.
Stunned and angry, national gay rights leaders Wednesday blamed scare-mongering ads - and President Barack Obama's lack of engagement - for a bitter election setback in Maine that could alter the dynamics for both sides in the gay-marriage debate.
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"President Obama missed an opportunity to state his position against these discriminatory attacks with the clarity and moral imperative that would have helped in this close fight," said Evan Wolfson of the national advocacy group Freedom to Marry. "The anti-gay forces are throwing millions of dollars into various unsubtle ads aimed at scaring people, so subtle statements from the White House are not enough."
The White House, asked about the criticism, had no immediate comment.
Go Evan.
My two cents: Obama hasn't been there much to back us up when we need him. Why should we be there for him when he extends his hand to us . . . palm up for cash?
For the gay rights movement, the defeat is another setback to its long-held strategy of building the case for marriage equality state by state. Historically, the tactics have been to target places where conditions seem favorable, and Maine, characterized by its governor as a libertarian state, seemed to fit that criterion.
Still, advocates say the strategy remains effective. They point to Tuesday's balloting in Kalamazoo, Mich., where voters approved an anti-discrimination ordinance that provides gays protections in employment, housing and public accommodations. Another victory appeared to be likely in Washington state, where incomplete returns indicate that a majority of voters have approved the legislature's expansion of domestic partnership rights.
Advocates say there was a partial victory even in Maine, where the vote was closer than it had been in previous campaigns.
"We're hopeful that it's a signal that there is increasing support for gay couples to marry," said Dan Hawes, field director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "Nationally, we're going to continue education efforts to move the needle of public opinion, especially in California."
What do you think? Do you feel that we should keep going down this same road, engaging in a degrading referendum process that allows citizens to vote on each other's civil rights?
It is time we wake up and acknowledge that the GLBT fight for equality is the world’s first “Civil Likes” movement. Each year, a popularity contest is held somewhere on the map and if the locals find us likeable our families are protected. If the natives have a negative view of gay people, we remain second-class citizens.
Given this reality we have to make a major choice.
We can declare the current process a disgusting and humiliating insult to our humanity and opt out of all future referendums. The movement would make the case to the nation why such votes are anathema to American values and in the process educate people about our families and quest for equality. A powerful campaign of continued and sustainable civil disobedience would have to supplement this strategy.
Or, we can continue to participate in degrading referendums. But, if we do so, we have to stop pretending that the majority of the American people understand the U.S. Constitution, much less the notion of equality. Those who vote against GLBT rights simply do not like gay people and their antipathy, often masked by religious bigotry, overrides the idea of equal protection. What our public relations experts will have to figure out ways to make us more likeable [sic] and overcome such objections.
How can we have any dignity, honor or pride in ourselves if we validate this continued process of ballot box terrorism? How can we stand tall next to each other if we explain away another's cowardliness? How can we allow people to dehumanize our relationships and our very integrity if we give people passes to sit out the battle for our very freedom? No longer are political timelines a reason for delay, no longer are incremental approaches acceptable and no longer can the political process expect us to be patient and wait our turn. Our turn came long ago and there will be no more waiting.
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New tactics must be embraced and honored. Civil disobedience must now be on the table and it is time for a long discussion about how it is to take place in the community. Perhaps we have to fill the jails, block military bases, sit in Congressional offices, block marriage bureaus, etc in order for them to know that business as usual has stopped. Careful and thoughtful consideration must be given now to this option.
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No longer can I stand before you in speeches and rallies urging you to stay the course. The course needs changing and we need to toughen up in the process. Yes, we must continue fighting but this time, instead of responding to their strategy, we must forge our own. Make no mistake about it. The days of acquiesce are over. There is no option except one at this stage and that is full equality now.
Freedom,Liberty,Justice are not mere words. They represent a way of life that is being denied to LGBT Americans every day of our lives.
If the Olson/Boies team can prove that these referendums, particularly Prop 8, are done purely out of animus towards the LGBT population, then the state of California will have no bearing interest and render Prop 8 unconstitutional. This would have a direct, nationwide effect.
It is expected that this case will go all the way to the Supreme Court. But the data discovered in the upcoming January trial will be examined. History in the making.
Reporter Karen Ocamb invited me to contribute this piece for her Prop 8: One Year Anniversary series on her blog LGBT POV. I don't write a lot of deeply personal pieces for Unite the Fight, but what happened last night in Maine was personal, and so I respond in kind.
Last Friday I was a nervous wreck. I had asked several friends for input, and though all of them were very helpful, I knew that only I could come up with the best plan. Of course one of my friends, making me even more nervous than I already was, reminded me, “You only get to do this once. It has to be perfect.”
With my friend’s words echoing in my ears, I hastily yet carefully filled the apartment that I share with my boyfriend with lit candles, dusted and washed the dishes, used mouthwash, actually put on a tie and trimmed the jungle beard. When Loch came home from work, I got down on one knee, took out two rings and proposed.
Loch said yes. We cried.
Last night I was a nervous wreck. Again. I was live blogging the election night results, constantly updating Unite the Fight with poll numbers from Maine and Washington, Twittering like a mad man. I felt the same adrenaline rush that I felt Friday night, the same excitement of possible history in the making. I even began picturing a wedding in Maine.
Maine said yes. I cried.
“Yes.” That answer brought tears of joy to me Friday. But last night, it brought tears of sorrow. With 93% of precincts reporting, Mainers voted Yes 52.77% to 47.23% to killing the marriage equality bill passed by their legislature and signed by their Catholic governor.
Last November, Loch and I had been dating for 8 months. During the Summer of Love, the idea of marriage for us was almost a joke - we were still trying to figure which one of us had to fight traffic and drive across town to stay at the other’s apartment for the night. But when Prop 8 passed, we were devastated. Though neither of us knew where our relationship was headed, the idea that a majority of our fellow citizens told us where it couldn’t go hurt us deeply.
So we took to the streets. And I started Unite the Fight.
A year later, marriage is not a joke to us. We’ve arrived. We’re ready. And I wanted to celebrate our engagement with a win in Maine. But there was another reason I so desperately wanted Maine to uphold marriage equality.
I come from a very fundamental, Christian background. My family is so deeply rooted in religion that my parents became missionaries, and at a young age, I was taken all over the world to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I came out to my parents when I was 18. I had to subsequently come out three more times to get past their denial.
Fourteen years later, my parents still struggle with my being gay. They have never once met anyone I have ever dated, nor during that time did they ever ask if I was seeing anyone, carefully picking questions during phone calls to avoid the topic of my personal life. Yet they have always made it clear that they love me despite arguing that my choices are an abomination.
It was a big step just telling them about Loch. Loch was different. He was the one. And I knew that he was going to be a part of my family. But I had to figure out who else consisted of my true family. Were my parents going to be included in that unit? Were they going to participate in that aspect of my life?
It hasn’t been easy. We face our true test this Sunday. For the first time ever, my parents are going to meet someone that I love. And not only that, they’re going to be meeting my husband-to-be.
I wanted so badly for Maine to stand beside Loch and myself when we sit down for dinner with my parents Sunday. I wanted deeply to have a whole state to have our backs when I proudly introduced my fiancé to my parents. Though I don’t require the approval of anyone anywhere to sanctify my relationship with Loch, having a marriage that is not only recognized by a government but by my fellow citizens sends a powerful message not only to a faceless nation but to the very real people who are my parents.
I can’t change what happened in Maine. I can’t change the fact that I won’t have my wedding in the gorgeous Pine Tree State. I can’t change that two years in a row, a slight majority voted away my rights.
But I can continue to take a stand. I can continue to fight for what is right and just and fair. I can continue to struggle to protect my future marriage and the children that I plan to have with Loch.
And though I cry as I write this, and feel defeated, I refuse to let what happened in Maine keep me down.
Tonight, all across the state of California and different parts of the country, rallies and marches are being held to mark the historical blot on our nation’s history that is Proposition 8. We must remember that though Proposition 8 stripped us of our rights as it tore our hearts out, it also woke the sleeping giant that is the LGBT population.
Proposition 8 and Question 1 are just chapters of a beautiful tome that will tell the amazing story of the LGBT Civil Rights Movement.
Today, Kate Kendall of NCLR responded to the passage of Question 1, saying, “We are in a difficult moment. This is a hard day. But we can't lose hope or stop believing in the rightness of our cause. We have the privilege of living in the midst of our own civil rights movement. The cost of that privilege is the same cost it has been in every movement--our humanity and dignity is attacked and undermined and we stand tall, never give up, and never lose faith. Today is a test, and we must be the measure of it.”
We are privileged. Don’t forget that. Stand up tonight. Take to the streets. We’re the authors of our own story. Let’s give this adventure a happy ending.
The promise of Maine was a strong one, but in the end it wasn't strong enough to overcome the fear and lies championed by the opposition. With 93% of precincts reporting, marriage equality was defeated for the 31st time at the ballot box 52.77% to 47.23%, roughly the same numbers as Prop 8.
"Tonight, hundreds of thousands of Maine voters stood for equality, but in the end, it wasn't enough," said Jesse Connolly, NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality's campaign manager in a concession statement.
"I am proud of the thousands of Mainers who knocked on doors, made phone calls and talked to their family, friends and neighbors about the basic premise of treating all Maine families equally.
"And I'm proud of this campaign because the stories we told and the images we shared were of real Mainers -- parents who stood up for their children, and couples who simply wanted to marry the person they love.
"We're in this for the long haul. For next week, and next month, and next year-- until all Maine families are treated equally. Because in the end, this has always been about love and family and that will always be something worth fighting for."
Those images of real Mainers was the hallmark of the NO on 1 campaign. Unlike the opposition who either used out-of-staters or actors in their ads, the NO on 1 campaign used real residents with real stories to tell, explaining why marriage equality was so important to them.
At times it was questioned whether or not the campaign should bite back equally hard against the opposition's lies and attack ads, but Jesse Connolly and staff studied hard the failure of California's No on Prop 8 campaign which didn't use gay people in their ads and took forever to respond to the opposition's claims. Jesse and team adjusted that rule book and adapted it to Maine.
The Pine Tree State proudly boasts a strong libertarian population and attack ads don't sit well with them. The strategy was to rise above the fray of lies such as "homosexual marriage in schools" and stick to the "All Families Are Equal" and the "Live and Let Live" mantra Maine holds dear. They responded fast and quick, had a very impressive field campaign, creatively utilized the internet and the netroots (which I am proud to say I was a part of) and had over 8,000 volunteers.
But in the end, it wasn't enough.
This time.
Unlike California, whose voters amended the state constitution banning same-sex marriage, Mainers only threw out a law passed by its legislature and signed by the governor granting marriage rights to Pine Tree State's LGBT population.
Marriage equality in Maine will probably take a similar path that Maine's anti-discrimination bill took - it was passed three times by the state's legislature, was defeated twice by a people's veto whose campaigns were rain by fierce anti-LGBT forces, and it wasn't until the third time voters upheld the law. The video below gives a moving history of LGBT rights in Maine, including the defeats and wonderful victories.
A new marriage equality bill will likely appear before Maine's legislature and pro-marriage equality governor, John Baldacci, soon.
This is just a chapter in a long narrative, not just for Maine, but for the nation. In one year's time since the historical passage of Prop 8, Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont all passed marriage equality either through the court or in the legislature. Currently, Washington D.C., New York and New Jersey are on the cusp of passing marriage equality legislation.
The tide is turning. One defeat does not mark the end. We dust ourselves off, learn from what worked and what didn't, and charge ahead.
However, we're not out of the woods. The new poll from today shows us behind at 51% versus 47%. We really can win this, but we have to get out the vote!
ACTION: HELP CALL SUPPORTERS AND TELL THEM TO VOTE!
If you live far from Maine but are eager to make a difference, you can phone bank from home. Sign up at Call for Equality.
If you do live near Maine, go to Drive for Equality, where you can look for carpools in your area headed up to the Pine Tree State so you can volunteer and help Get Out the Vote! They will call you within 15 minutes of signing up or call them at 415-935-4552
If you actually live in Maine, VOTE EARLY! Not only will the NO on 1 campaign see a record of your vote, it will free you up on election day to help get supporters to the polls.
Equality California will host phone banks across the state for California volunteers, encouraging voters in Maine and Washington to vote to protect the rights of same-sex couples. On November 3, Mainers will vote on whether to repeal a law granting same-sex couples the right to marry. In the state of Washington, voters are being asked to re-confirm the expansion of domestic partnership rights for same-sex couples.
WHEN: Tuesday, November 3, 2009.
SAN DIEGO: 301 University Ave., San Diego, 92103, 2:30 PM- 5 PM
ORANGE COUNTY: 1700 E. Garry Ave, Ste. 231, Santa Ana, CA 92701, 10 AM-4:30 PM
PALM SPRINGS: 314 N. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, 92261, 1 PM- 5 PM
Tomorrow Mainers go to the polls and decide whether or not to strip gays and lesbians of their newly found right to marry in the Pine Tree State.
Those of us in favor of marriage equality are facing an uphill battle. A new poll released today shows those in favor overturning marriage equality, or those voting YES for Question 1, beating us 51% to 47%. (See full poll embedded at bottom of the post. Also see Nate Silver's analysis of all Maine Question polls.)
THIS IS CRUNCH TIME.
And to make matters a little worse, the Yes on 1 side has just done an unexpected, major push to raise $25,000 to air one last major attack ad.
Contrary to popular belief, the NO on 1 campaign does not have a lot of money. We raised it and they used it well. But the Yes on 1 has the Catholic Church and NOM on their side, and they intend to squash us.
I wasn't going to come to you to ask for money again. We've asked so much, and you've dug deep and really come through.
Honestly, I wouldn't take my time away from managing our Get Out The Vote operation to send this email if it wasn't really important.
But we just heard that Yes on 1 is increasing their TV ad buy by $25,000 today.
$25,000 buys a lot of TV ads in Maine.
With the money we have now, we simply can't counter their arguments on TV.
You and I have both invested a lot in this campaign. I won't-- I can't-- let them win this because we couldn't come up with the last $25,000 in the final 36 hours.
We can't let Yes on 1 win the airtime war with their misleading, and factually inaccurate ads.
We can't let Yes on 1 lie to Maine voters about schools and teachers and children and same-sex couples in Maine.
We need to stand up and match every one of their lies with an ad of our own, that explains that marriage equality won't do anything to families but protect all of them.
Seriously, this is it people. Help us avoid another Prop 8 from happening. DONATE!
ACTION: IF YOU CAN'T DONATE, YOU CAN STILL HELP!
If you live far from Maine but are eager to make a difference, you can phone bank from home. Sign up at Call for Equality.
If you do live near Maine, go to Drive for Equality, where you can look for carpools in your area headed up to the Pine Tree State so you can volunteer and help Get Out the Vote! They will call you within 15 minutes of signing up or call them at 415-935-4552
If you actually live in Maine, VOTE EARLY! Not only will the NO on 1 campaign see a record of your vote, it will free you up on election day to help get supporters to the polls.
Who we are:Approve Referendum 71 is the campaign to preserve domestic partnerships in Washington State. By voting to approve, voters retain the domestic partnership laws that were passed during this year's legislative session, including using sick leave to care for a partner, adoption rights, insurance rights, and more. What we need: We need phone bankers to get our supporters out to vote. Washington is an all mail-in ballot state, and we need to ensure our supporters put their ballots in the mail. Also, youth turnout is a critical component of our campaign, and youth turnout historically drops in off-year elections. So we need a lot of help to turn them out.
How you do it:Sign up here to make remote calls for Approve 71. We'll then contact you for a training, and you can make GOTV calls.
Washington Voters:Check here to be sure your ballot is properly counted.
Maine:
Who we are: The No On 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign is working to protect Maine's recently-passed law legalizing marriage equality for same-sex couples. Our opponents have put the issue on the ballot for Nov 3, 2009. Because of Maine's early voting election laws, people are already voting at the polls, so we need help immediately to turn out our side at the polls. What we need: We need you to devote a few hours to Call for Equality. Call for Equality is a virtual phonebank set up so that you can call Maine voters wherever you are. Much of Maine is rural, where canvassing isn't effective, so we need to reach these voters- along with other supporters- by phone. All you need is a phone and internet connection. No experience required! We'll provide the training, and all you need is a a few hours to help get a win in Maine. How you do it:Click here to sign up for a training and your shift. There are lots of times available for your convenience.
Kalamazoo, MI:
Who We Are: The Yes on Ordinance 1856 / One Kalamazoo campaign is working in Michigan to support the City Commission of Kalamazoo's twice approved ordinance for housing, employment, and public accommodation protections for gay and transgender residents. Opponents forced a public referendum on the ordinance so dedicated local volunteers, led by former Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Jon Hoadley, are working to ensure voters say YES to fairness and equality and keep Ordinance 1856. Why The Urgency: In the final weeks, the opposition has gone all out with aggressive disinformation and misleading red herrings to try to defeat the ordinance. This includes signs that say "No to Discrimination" (even though voting No actually supports continued discrimination of GLBT residents), transphobic door hangers and fliers, and now radio ads that falsely suggest that criminal behavior will become legal when this simply isn't true. The Yes on Ordinance 1856 supporters are better organized but many voters who want to vote for gay and transgender people are getting confused by the opposition.
How To Help:
1) Help the One Kalamazoo campaign raise a final $10,000 specifically dedicated to fight back against the lies on the local TV and radio airwaves and fully fund the campaign's final field and GOTV efforts. Give here:http://www.actblue.com/page/3-2-1-countdown
2) If you live nearby and can physically volunteer in Kalamazoo sign up here. If you know anyone that lives in Kalamazoo, use the One Kalamazoo campaign's online canvass tool to remind those voters that they need to vote on November 3rd and vote YES on Ordinance 1856 to support equality for gay and transgender people. Contact voters:http://www.onekalamazoo.com/tellfriends2
Back in April, before Maine's marriage equality bill LD1020 passed, the state's Senate Judiciary Committee held one of the largest public hearings on the bill. Thousands turned out, including the now famous Philip Spooner. And Paul and Jeanette.
LD1020 faces a people's veto on Tuesday. But it won't be the first time an LGBT rights bill faced such a challenge in Maine. Equality Maine put together the video below, a recap of the victories and defeats of LGBT rights in the Pine Tree State.
Will you help LD1020 gain a victory at the ballot? Only a couple hours of your time can make a big difference.
Got this email from the campaign:
103,817.
That's the number of calls our volunteers around the country -- folks just like you -- have made to Maine voters encouraging them to vote No on Question 1, the ballot question on same-sex marriage.
103,817 is a lot of calls -- but it's not quite enough to get all NO on 1 voters to the polls.
We know this election will come down to turnout, and we're counting on supporters like you from around the country to make a difference in this off year election.
The NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign has released a new ad airing today that sums it all up - Maine has a choice, to treat some families differently and shaming them while putting them at risk, or treating all families the same.
It's a clear choice.
Now help the NO on 1 campaign remind our supporters to get out and vote on Tuesday, November 3. That's right - there's only four days left! And they really do need all the help they can get. Polls show us at a tie, and if we're to win, we need EVERY supporter to get up and go vote.
You can help remind them. I've been calling. It's easy and fun. Really. It's a clear choice to act.
ACTION: HELP GET OUT THE VOTE!
If you live far from Maine but are eager to make a difference, you can phone bank from home. Sign up at Call for Equality.
If you do live near Maine, go to Drive for Equality, where you can look for carpools in your area headed up to the Pine Tree State so you can volunteer and help Get Out the Vote!
If you actually live in Maine, VOTE EARLY! Not only will the NO on 1 campaign see a record of your vote, it will free you up on election day to help get supporters to the polls.
The NO on 1/Protect Marriage Equality campaign has called out the Yes on 1 camp, specifically the Catholic Church, for the hypocrisy in claiming they "support" domestic partnerships and using this as proof of their tolerance of gays, when in fact they opposed DPs when they were first introduced. (Oh, and it's the Catholic Church that's fighting Washington state's new DP law RIGHT NOW.)
This announcement from NO on 1 was spurred by the new opposition ad that shifted its tone from crying wolf about marriage equality being taught in schools to saying that gays and lesbians already have their civil rights.
Today, No on 1 held a press conference. (Video from America Blog)
This was coupled with the following press release.
Yes Campaign Ad Promoting Domestic Partnerships a Sham Biggest Funders, Managers Opposed DP
Portland, Maine (October 30, 2009)---The NO on 1 campaign charged that the biggest backers and manager of the Yes campaign have opposed domestic partnerships for same-sex couples for years, even though their latest political ad promotes Maine's domestic partner registry.
After weeks of a paid advertising campaign that attacked Maine schools --attacks that were rejected by Maine newspapers, the Commissioner of Education, the Attorney General and others -- the Yes campaign released a new ad this week applauding the state's DP registry as sufficient to protect same-sex couples and their families.
But in fact, campaign manager Mark Mutty, as director of public affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, opposed the DP registry bill both in 2003 and again in 2004 when it passed in the Maine Legislature. In addition, Mutty and others associated with the Yes campaign were silent on the alternative bill to the marriage equality legislation this spring which would have expanded the DP registry.
"This is the height of hypocrisy and double-talk," said Jesse Connolly, NO on 1 campaign manager. "Their new ad actually invokes domestic partnership as a solution, yet they're on record either directly or by their silence as opposing even this measure of protection."
In testimony submitted for the 2003 DP bill entitled "An Act to Promote the Financial Security of Maine's Families and Children," Mutty wrote and signed on behalf of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland:
"Our opposition to LD 1579 is foremost rooted in moral and ethical principles that are not only applicable to Catholics, but serve society well as a whole. However there are more practical considerations…Several attorneys who have reviewed this bill have indicated their strong conviction that such a drastic change in the code would lead to mass confusion in the courts and tie up probate claims for months without clear resolution. These are but a few of the perhaps unintended consequences that such a measure would bring to Maine."
"When I wrote Maine's domestic partner registry law, no group fought against it harder than the Roman Catholic Diocese," said former State Representative Benjamin Dudley, sponsor of the bill creating Maine's domestic partner registry. "Now the Diocese, through its campaign against marriage equality, says they 'want to be tolerant of gays' and stands behind the registry law they fought so hard to defeat. I'd call that the height of irony."
In addition, Maggie Gallagher, the president of the National Organization for Marriage, which has contributed at least $1.6 million to the Yes campaign, has long opposed both domestic partnerships and civil unions. In fact, Gallagher, in 2002 argued against DP benefits because they "erode the status" of marriage.
Finally, the principals of the Yes campaign were notably silent on a 2009 bill entitled, "An Act to Expand Rights for Maine Families," which would have expanded Maine's DP registry, and was proposed as an alternative to the marriage equality law.
"The Yes campaign in the final hours of this election can't simply reinvent itself and try to claim some sort of new platform," added Connelly. "The record shows that time and time again, they either opposed domestic partnerships or were silent on them, even when they were offered as an alternative to full marriage equality. This is nothing more than a Trojan horse and voters should not be fooled."
"The DP registry, in fact, has a few but not the hundreds of protections spouses receive under marriage," added Mary Bonauto, the civil rights director at GLAD and a member of NO on 1's executive committee. "Separate systems are not equal and never have been. Domestic partner laws simply don't apply to the things that allow you to take care of your partner or your children, and it is still impossible for many people to get a family policy of health insurance without getting married.
"Marriage offers protection in times of greatest need and crisis," added Bonauto. "Equality, family, protection and respect only come in one package, and that's marriage."
Maine is pretty incredible. They have been hosting near-daily public debates on Question 1 in an effort for all Mainers to hear both sides of the marriage equality issue.
GLAD's Mary Bonauto again represents NO on 1/Protect Marriage Equality in the debate against Yes on 1's Brian Souchet. The debate was hosted by Maine's southern ABC affiliate WGME.
Sen. Schumer Calls for Full, Nationwide Marriage Equality
Sen. Chuck Schumer spoke at a Empire State Pride Agenda dinner, the largest LGBT advocacy group in New York. In his speech, Schumer made a call to his colleagues to full marriage equality in all fifty states.
"If Dick Cheney can support marriage, so can every Senator. So can every Democrat, Republican, Liberal Conservative. Equality should know no bounds, and we must not rest until we have marriage in all fifty of these United States."
"We are not going to give them legal advice. We trust that their legal counsel will advise them to comply fully," she said. "The court has ruled that it is in the public interest to do so, and the law couldn't be clearer.
"I would hope that they would file before the election," Mills said. "Why not? What is there to hide?"
Kalamazoo In the Middle of a LGBT Rights Battle
Kalamazoo, MI residents will have to decide whether or not to reject the city commission's non-discrimination ordinance which would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in work, housing and public accommodations.
Mary Balkema, the Kalamazoo County Treasurer, heads the opposition group Kalamazoo Citizens Voting No.
Balkema was instrumental in gathering thousands of signatures two different times to get the measure rescinded by the city commission and placed on the ballot.
Their main argument is that an ordinance protecting the rights of gays and lesbians in hiring, housing and public accommodation isn't necessary. They say discrimination against gays and lesbians simply doesn't happen in Kalamazoo.
"The opposite side cannot site one example of discrimination in housing, employment or public accommodation," Balkema said. "So this discriminatory ordinance is looking for a non-existent problem."
But David Garcia, the Executive Director of the Kalamazoo Gay and Lesbian Resource Center, says the ordinance is not only necessary, it's past due.
"When we hear the opposition say that Kalamazoo doesn't need an ordinance because it just doesn't happen here in Kalamazoo, gay people aren't being fired, I'm quick to say come on down here to the Resource Center and volunteer with us for a month, answer the phone calls and you'll see that's' simply not true," Garcia told 24 Hour News 8.
Balkema was responsible for passing an offensive flyer that has scared residents into voting against the ordinance. The flyer shows pictures of men in women's clothing and stating that they will infiltrate women's bathrooms and commit assault, adding that children will have to share bathrooms with sexual predators.
Help the campaign One Kalamazoo! Find even more info here. Washington Post Columnist Debunks D.C. Anti-Marriage Testimonies
The Rev. Walter E. Fauntroy, the District's first delegate to Congress, was probably the most prestigious person who testified against same-sex marriage. He spoke at the election board hearing about what he sees as the importance of allowing a vote; afterward I asked him about the substance of the issue.
Fauntroy said that same-sex marriage threatens children. "Every child needs to be bonded to a man and a woman," he said. That ignores research showing that same-sex couples do a perfectly good job of raising children. Also, same-sex couples can already adopt in the District.
Fauntroy also said the "survival of the species" is at stake. "I have some brilliant friends who are gay, and it bothers me that they're not going to pass those genes on," he said.
I've got news for Fauntroy. His friends are more likely to pass on their genes, such as by artificial insemination, if they are permitted to marry. He and the other opponents should get out of the way and let them do so.
Yes on 1 in Maine Claims Their Defaced Signs Is A Hate Crime
Earlier today, Yes on 1 revealed its new scary ad just in time for Halloween. NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality has quickly countered with their message discipline of equality.
ACTION: TAKE A STAND, FOLKS!
If you live far from Maine but are eager to make a difference, you can phone bank from home. Sign up at Call for Equality.
If you do live near Maine, go to Drive for Equality, where you can look for carpools in your area headed up to the Pine Tree State so you can volunteer and help Get Out the Vote!
If you actually live in Maine, VOTE EARLY! Not only will the NO on 1 campaign see a record of your vote, it will free you up on election day to help get supporters to the polls.
At this point in the game, their misinformation and scare tactics sound like, "Blah blah blah blah blah blah BOO!" Fitting for Halloween.
The soundtrack for this ad should've been the creepy Halloween piano playing in the background. But stop. That would be another copyright infringement!
Maybe Marc Mutty, chair of Yes on 1, should dress up as a gay teacher (whatever that looks like - it could prove to be rather boring) and scare his volunteers into action for the holiday. Because from what I understand, their field effort is pretty shoddy.
Rex Wockner reports, "There are 8,000 volunteers working on the campaign to stop the National Organization for Marriage from taking away gay and lesbian Mainers' right to marry. There are 5 days to go.
"More volunteers are still needed for two of NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality's projects: Drive for Equality, and Call for Equality."
You can read the rest of Rex's post for more information, or see below or click on the big 3-2-1 graphic at the top of this blog that gives you a ton more information.
ACTION: Help Maine become the first state to pass marriage equality at the ballot!
If you live far from Maine but are eager to make a difference, you can phone bank from home. Sign up at Call for Equality.
If you do live near Maine, go to Drive for Equality, where you can look for carpools in your area headed up to the Pine Tree State so you can volunteer and help Get Out the Vote!
If you actually live in Maine, VOTE EARLY! Not only will the NO on 1 campaign see a record of your vote, it will free you up on election day to help get supporters to the polls.
Posts
Antonia Carroll, a 16-year-old high school junior, organized a marriage equality rally in Bangor, Maine that took place Sunday.
