Putting the ME in Mean

In Maine, the Coalition for Marriage formally announced that it would try to overturn the new gay civil-rights law and that it would go for a DoMA law in 2006. The full statement is available on the organization's site.

Coalition Chairman Sandy Williams delivered his statement on March 31 "in the State House Hall of Flags," which must have some significance to Mainers. The comments are a fine recap of the arguments from the religious right. They are almost entirely emotionally based. Instead of law and logic, they largely rely on claiming their positions are "just common sense."

Unfortunately for the fearful, the legislatures and courts generally end up fairer and less emotional than that. It will be intriguing to see whether fear mongering about impending legalized polygamy and queers around every corner will work with the Maine voters a third time in efforts to overturn the gay protections.

The experiences of Vermont and Massachusetts disprove virtually all of his assertions.

Yet, his tenth argument reads

Children have a right to be loved and nurtured by a mother and a father, and the state must do all in its power to protect and promote that natural right.

If only they did have that right and if only more of our traditional nuclear families were fully functional and offered that love and nurturing. Lackaday, adults are so often burdened by their own baggage that being great or even good parents is beyond them. That's all good for the legal and psychology professions, but not for kids.