Source: Portland Press Herald, MPBN, San Francisco Chronicle (AP)
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Portland, Maine
Soon after Maine’s secretary of state had announced the official ballot title for a “people’s veto” referendum measure, the state’s Roman Catholic diocese announced this week that it will begin gathering signatures aimed at delaying or overturning marriage equality in the state.
The bill recognizing marriage equality was approved by the Maine legislature and signed into law by Gov. John Baldacci on May 6.
Portland Press Herald reports that the bill will become law sometime in September – 90 days after the legislature’s expected mid-June adjournment – unless opponents submit “people’s veto” petitions before then with 55,087 valid signatures.
The Roman Catholic church in Maine plans to be at the forefront of the anti-gay signature-gathering effort, a spokesman said. Hours after Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap had released the measure’s official ballot title, the Diocese of Portland announced will begin collecting signatures for the referendum, reports Maine Public Broadcasting.
Catholic church in Maine starts gathering signatures for its anti-gay ‘people’s veto’ [contd.]
A spokesman said the church plans to mount a “vigorous campaign” to overturn the new equality law. “This will eventually become one of the biggest grassroots movements in Maine history. We will involve people of every faith, and those who have no religious background, in this effort,” boasted church spokesman Mark McNutty.
If the anti-gay political/religious coalition is able to submit enough signatures, the “people’s veto” would appear on the ballot in June 2010, the Press Herald reports. The marriage equality law could not take effect until after a defeat of the referendum.
The Diocese of Portland will also be defending its political activism during that time because of a complaint brought by a California-based non-profit group. Empowering Spirits Foundation of San Diego announced yesterday that it has filed a complaint with the Internal Revenue Service in Dallas challenging the Maine church’s tax-exempt status.
The group, which describes itself on its temporary website as “a civil rights organization working to achieve lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality”, says that the diocese is engaged in political activity by collecting signatures for the referendum, violating IRS rules applying to nonprofits, Associated Press reports.
Although they don’t agree on much else, activists on both side of the issue were pleased with the wording that Dunlap has assigned to referendum.
Voters would be asked to answer this question:
Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?
Betsy Smith, executive director of Equality Maine, said her group has no problems with the way the ballot question has been framed. She told Portland Press Herald that she hopes Mainers will not forget how and why the bill passed.
“We are confident that Maine people will vote to uphold this law, which grants equality to all Maine couples, and we are looking forward to continuing the conversation with Maine people about the importance of this law,” Smith said.
Dunlap consulted with a ninth-grade English teacher and a college political science professor, among others, to come up with the wording for the referendum (called a “people’s veto” in Maine), Portland Press Herald reports.
“A lot of wordsmithing went into this question,” Dunlap explained to the Press Herald. “We wanted to make sure that someone walking into the polls at the last minute, with no prior knowledge of the question, could understand what it meant.”
Although Dunlap is solely responsible in Maine for setting the wording for measure of this kind, he said that in this case he consulted with members of the state's volunteer Ballot Clarity Advisory Board before developing the language. Board members include a couple of college professors, English teachers and a town clerk, according to the Press Herald.
The ballot measure will also include an explanation: A "yes" vote means you are opposed to same-sex marriage, and a "no" vote means you support the new law.
Source: Language finalized for same-sex marriage veto | Portland Press Herald
Catholic Church to Begin Collecting Signatures for People's Veto Campaign | MBPN
Gay rights group: Maine diocese violating tax law | Associated Press (San Francisco Chronicle)