Sad day for civil rights in Maine.

[Shagbark Hickory]

Gay marriage repealed in Maine
http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/128048.html

This pisses me off.

[ccharles000]

1. very sad

[MineralMan]

2. It should not be possible to vote to remove anyone's rights.

Down that road is madness.

[emulatorloo]

18. I agree -- it is totally insane. n/t

[La Lioness Priyanka]

3. i want to punch someone. throw up & cry.

at the same time

[thunder rising]

4. Sad, I can't believe the people of Maine did that. I expected more from ME folks, but I guess that

was ill founded.

[Odin2005]

5. This is why referendums are a bad thing.

They let bigots take away your rights. The Tyranny of the Majority is still Tyranny.

[glinda]

6. If the Churches and Religions backed any of this with money it should go to Court

for violating Church & State laws. If they loose in Court, a new Church should be started that allows recognized gay marriages and unions.

[bluedawg12]

7. Is it November again? Time to repeal civil rights?

Why yes it is. Hate8 & Remember the Maine (referendum).

[myrna minx]

8. This is a very sad day.

[get the red out]

9. Voting on people's rights is idiotic

If they took a vote on civil rights for liberals in my state I would probably have none at all. This is sick and our whole country needs to wake up.

[Barack_America]

10. No.

Not just Maine.

It's a sad day for civil rights everywhere.

[Robb]

16. +1. nt

[Le Taz Hot]

11. I feel your pain.

Signed, A Californian.

[derby378]

12. If I remember correctly, a referendum still can't overturn the US Constitution

I've still got a little fight in me, and I'm straight, dammit.

[WhollyHeretic]

13. Bigoted fuckwits

Voting to take away civil rights.

[tjwash]

14. Welcome to our world in California

No matter how much you bust you hump knocking on doors, manning the phones, and passing out pamphlets, all the while enduring the abuse and vitriol of ignorant abusive assholes daily, because you support overturning an attack on something that is a basic right for all humans. It sucks to get slapped down by a small yet very vocal minority, that gets like minded bigots to show up in droves at the polls to vote for this one single issue. It tastes like raw fucking shit...and that taste isn't going away very soon either.

Don't try to get too much solace here at DU either...because your state just did a stupid fucking thing and put civil right legislation on a ballot and it got beaten, that now means that you get the pleasure of being broad brushed as another member of a state full of bigoted homophobic assholes just your zip-code happens to be in the middle of it.

[naturallyselected]

15. Peoples' Veto is the problem - but I contributed too

I have long had problems with Maine's Peoples' Veto. We elect representatives to make the laws - we may or may not agree with them. We never had the option of a Peoples' Veto for the Iraq War. When it comes to civil rights issues, "colored" folk (and I don't mean to offend anyone with that designation - I am using it as the phrase that could still be in common use if desegregation had been subject to a Peoples' Veto) would still be using separate water fountains if desegregation had been subject to a Peoples' Veto.

I woke deeply saddened this morning. I had faith in our state's basic fairness, and the importance to Mainers of the notion of "live and let live", even if they didn't agree with how others felt. And I'm ashamed of myself - I proudly wore my "No on 1" button, I tried to win over anyone who engaged me about it, but I should have done more. I should have gone door to door, made the phone calls. I apologize to all those who fought this battle harder than I, and I apologize to the thousands of Maine's gay citizens that I let down, and to the millions of gay US citizens who would have benefited from this particular domino falling.

I assumed too much. When it comes to peoples' fears, nothing can be assumed. For whatever reasons, many people have a visceral fear of anyone that's different than they are, and this fear was exploited shamelessly by the "Yes on 1" side. Ads that all but said our children would be taught about the details of gay sex in the classroom, turning a basic civil rights argument into something that preyed on peoples' fears about sexuality in general and gay sexuality in particular.

Yes, more young people should have come out to the polls yesterday - when I voted, I think I, at 55, was the youngest person in the room. Yes, the "No on 1" side should have stayed on message instead of letting the other side set the PR agenda. But I should have done more, and I hope I manage to find the time and energy to more actively join the struggle as it moves forward in Maine despite this setback.

[backscatter712]

17. When does the boycott start?

Before anyone here whines about "collateral damage", bear in mind that there is no such thing in this case.

The people of Maine held an election, and they said collectively "We hate queers!"

So we're damned well justified in punishing them collectively. All residents of Maine. It's time for a boycott.

Do not buy Maine goods. If you're thinking of vacationing in Maine, go somewhere else. Cancel conferences, find other places to get services done, SHUT DOWN THEIR ECONOMY.

Shutter their tourist traps, bankrupt their businesses, get their residents laid off and on unemployment.

Because they spoke with one voice, and said "WE HATE QUEERS!" Well, we hate them back.

Fuck 'em.