Main Governor Baldacci has signed LD 1020 granting marriage equality to all Maine citizens. From the Bangor Daily News:

[Governor] Baldacci made his announcement within an hour of the Maine Senate giving its final approval to LD 1020. The Senate voted 21-13 in favor of the measure after a short debate.

The House of Representatives gave its approval on a 89-57 vote Tuesday.

The proposal would make Maine the fifth state to allow gay marriage.

The following statement was released after Baldacci signed the bill:

“I have followed closely the debate on this issue. I have listened to both sides, as they have presented their arguments during the public hearing and on the floor of the Maine Senate and the House of Representatives. I have read many of the notes and letters sent to my office, and I have weighed my decision carefully,” Governor Baldacci said. “I did not come to this decision lightly or in haste.”

“I appreciate the tone brought to this debate by both sides of the issue,” Governor Baldacci said. “This is an emotional issue that touches deeply many of our most important ideals and traditions. There are good, earnest and honest people on both sides of the question.”

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

“Article I in the Maine Constitution states that ‘no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law, nor be denied the equal protection of the laws, nor be denied the enjoyment of that person’s civil rights or be discriminated against.’”

“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,” Governor Baldacci said.

“It guarantees that Maine citizens will be treated equally under Maine’s civil marriage laws, and that is the responsibility of government.”

“Even as I sign this important legislation into law, I recognize that this may not be the final word,” Governor Baldacci said. “Just as the Maine Constitution demands that all people are treated equally under the law, it also guarantees that the ultimate political power in the State belongs to the people.”

“While the good and just people of Maine may determine this issue, my responsibility is to uphold the Constitution and do, as best as possible, what is right. I believe that signing this legislation is the right thing to do,” Governor Baldacci said.

Welcome to the party Maine! Come on California… we’re next!

The Maine House of Representatives has voted to grant same-sex couples the right to marry by a vote of 89-58. Last week the Maine Senate voted 21-14 for same-sex marriage as well.

A recent poll shows Maine voters are evenly split on the issue. And, while it remains unclear if Governor Baldacci would sign the bill  should it reach his desk, he has suggested recently that he would favor the legislation.

In a final vote by a margin of 12-1, the lone dissenting vote cast by former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, the city council has voted to recognize same-sex marriages preformed in other states.

This was the second vote of the morning. The first vote was a unanimous 13-0 until Barry realized what he had voted for and wanted a do-over.

If Congress fails to overturn the vote within 30 days, council member David Catania will introduce a separate bill legalizing same-sex marriage in the district later this year.

More on the vote at the Washington Post.

At a townhall meeting this past weekend I asked Congresswoman Jackie Speier (CA-12)—who represents my district—about immigration reform as it pertains to bi-national same-sex couples.

Speier is one of 97 co-sponsors for the Uniting American Families Act (UAFA), which provides a path to citizenship for bi-national same-sex couples where one of the partners is not a natural-born or naturalized citizen. I asked Speier what was the best method of passing UAFA, either as a stand-alone  measure or as a part of more comprehensive immigration reform. I framed the question  around the story of Shirley Tan and Jay Mercado, a local bi-national lesbian couple nearly split apart by deportation. Speier responded directly:

So the only way that bill is going to get passed is if it’s part or larger immigration reform measure. That’s the intention of Zoe Lofgren who chairs the subcommittee and who will be moving the bill once one is actually crafted, and that’s the way we are going to see it happen.

Speier then began to speak at some length about the Tan and Mercado family:

The Tan family was in the office yesterday; they came in to thank us for the effort we had made. I’ve got to tell you this is a wonderful family with two thirteen your old boys that love both their parents and were frightened that they were going to lose their mother. So Senator Feinstein introduced a private bill which would prevent deportation.

…

They are now home and have two years of breathing space. This deportation will occur in two years unless Senator Feinstein reintroduces the bill. So hopefully we can address this issue [UAFA]. For those of you who don’t know about this… does anyone not know about this issue?

A smattering of nods and few voices in the affirmative…

Our immigration laws provide that if you are a naturalized or natural-born citizen and you marry some one who is not, that you can petition to have that individual stay in this country and receive a green card. Now, if you happen to be a gay or lesbian couple, that does not apply.

So in this case, this couple had been together 23 years, had been married locally, had two sons—the egg came from one spouse and was carried by the other spouse. The two of them are very committed physically, and emotionally to these children. And they’ve lived their lives in Pacifica… and their two sons were about to lose their mom. She was going to be deported mid-April.

We got a stay and we were able to do more due diligence, and finally Senator Feinstein said she could introduce the bill, so they now are an intact family.

And I did a home visit, because as part of the due dilligence, I wanted to find out if it was real or if it was a sham. And I looked through probably 6 picture albums, over the course of 13…15 years and there was never a more intact family, more committed family, more loving family. And they shouldn’t be discriminated against.

Pure and simple.

What followed was a resounding applause, perhaps the largest of the event. It filled me with hope and optimism, that this crowd of strangers felt empathy and support for the plight of Mercado and Tan family.

While not well-versed in the intricacies of getting legislation passed into law, I am concerned that UAFA will be bundled as a part of larger immigration reform. UAFA and the protections it provides is just the kind of the line item that can easily be scratched from a bill in order to get it through committee and eventually passed, particularly when contentious Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats may take issue with it. Senator Charles Schumer is optimistic comprehensive immigration reform may come before year’s end.

Never-the-less I applaud Speier’s support of UAFA and the Mercado and Tan family. In addition to UAFA, Speier continues to be a strong ally for the LGBT community, having co-sponsored HR. 1283 which would repeal Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and voting for hate crimes legislation for LGBT, transgendered and disabled persons.