Maine Legislative Committee Votes in Favor of Same-Sex Marriage
April 29, 2009
Yesterday the Maine Joint Committee on Judiciary voted 11-2-1 in favor of legislation to permit same-sex couples to marry under state law. HRC has had field organizer Jeremy Kennedy on the ground in Maine for the past three months working with Equality Maine to build support for the marriage legislation. The full Senate is expected to vote on the marriage bill soon; the House could take action in May. Maine currently provides same-sex couples with access to limited rights and benefits through a domestic partner registry. The vote in Maine comes on the heels of a new CBS/New York Times poll released Tuesday that shows that support for marriage equality across the country has risen nine points in the last month. The poll, conducted April 22-26, 2009, shows that 42% of Americans now say that same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry. That number is up nine points from the month earlier when only 33% support marriage equality for same-sex couples. Four states have recognized marriage for same-sex couples under state law: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, and Vermont (effective September 1, 2009). The New Hampshire Senate will vote today on a marriage equality bill. New York is also considering legislation that would permit same-sex couples to marry under state law. Joe Solmonese issued this statement:
This is an exciting vote, and it’s great to see strong support for the principle that all loving, committed couples in Maine ought to have the equal right to marry. We congratulate the committee, as well as Equality Maine for its great work to build support for equality. We hope that this bill will soon pass the Senate and House and be enacted into law. April has been a great month for equality, and we’re thrilled to see Maine take action to become the latest state to move toward recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.
Lesbian and gay couples do not receive federal rights and benefits in any state. To learn more about state by state legislation visit: www.hrc.org/state_laws.
