Minnesota Independent » Maine

Minnesota Catholics fund fight against gay marriage in Maine

Andy Birkey — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:33:10 +0000

(Lavverrue, Flickr)

Though the Maine Legislature passed legislation to allow same-sex marriage, residents voted against the bill in a ballot measure on election day by a margin of 53 to 47 percent. The Catholic church was a major funder of the forces opposed to same-sex marriage, and as MPR’s Tom Scheck notes, Minnesota Catholic were among those funding the opposition.

The Diocese of Crookston gave $5,000; the Dioceses of Winona and La Crosse, Wis., each donated $500; and New Ulm’s bishop personally gave $250.

Catholic dioceses around the country spent nearly $560,000 to repeal the same-sex marriage law (total fundraising by opponents of same-sex marriage was over $4 million), but not all Catholics opposed same-sex marriage.

Some 500 Catholics signed a letter stating in part, “We are Catholics who are concerned that the current political campaign to repeal Maine’s civil marriage equality law is at odds with fundamental principles of truth and charity, and with vital American traditions of separation of church and state.”

Maine becomes fifth state to recognize same-sex marriage

Andy Birkey — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:03:11 +0000

Maine Gov. Baldacci

Maine Governor John E. Baldacci signed into law on Wednesday a bill that legalizes same-sex marriage in that state. Maine will become the fifth state to legalize same-sex marriage, along with Iowa, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Vermont. It’s the second to do so through a legislative effort as opposed to the courts.

“In the past, I opposed gay marriage while supporting the idea of civil unions,” Governor Baldacci said in a statement. “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.”

He continued, “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.”

The Human Right Campaign hailed the decision. “Just one year ago, a single state allowed same-sex couples to marry. Now, with the historic step taken by Gov. Baldacci and the Maine legislature, five states will provide equal dignity, equal respect, and equal rights under state law for same-sex couples by recognizing their freedom to marry, and we hope more will follow soon,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.

McCain campaign pulls ad buys in Wisconsin and Maine

Steve Perry — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:45:05 +0000

After abandoning Michigan partly on the grounds of putting more resources into Midwestern neighbors like Wisconsin and Minnesota, the McCain campaign is now pulling up stakes in Wisconsin too — and, according to the AP, Maine. Writes Jim Kuhnhenn, “The party’s independent ad operation is doubling its budget to about $10 million and focusing on crucial states such as Colorado, Missouri, Indiana and Virginia where Democrat Barack Obama has established a foothold, according to a Republican strategist familiar with presidential ad placements.”

Can a retreat from Minnesota be far behind?