In 54 short days, the people of Maine will vote on whether or not it should be legal to
fire someone or kick them out of their home for being gay.
Twice in the past, the religious right has stripped these vital protections from the people of Maine by waging misleading and hate-filled referendum campaigns.
In November we have a chance, possibly the last chance, to stop this kind of discrimination.
Much more after the bump...
This campaign is so clear and these protections so basic that it seems hard to believe they would face much opposition. Unfortunately, conservative groups in Maine led by the Christian Civic League are trying once again to turn this vote into a referendum on gay marriage and the so-called "gay agenda". They are claiming, among other things, that gay people want to take over the government and schools, recruit your children to homosexuality, and ban all religions. They are repeating these charges again and again all over the state.
In their latest attack, they claimed that hurricanes like Katrina are God's punishment for backing gay rights.
Unfortunately, these tactics work, and in an off-year election they may help to get enough of their supporters to the polls to pass this referendum.
The only way to combat these kinds of lies and hatred is a more open and honest discussion. With that in mind, we have created Believe in Maine.
Believe in Maine is a unique experiment in online democracy and the contributors are an all-star cast of journalists, activists, bloggers, and well-known state politicians. Together I hope we can raise the level of debate in Maine and across the country and raise awareness of this incredibly important campaign.
Here are a few quick things you can do right now to make a difference in a campaign that could affect the entire country:
- Contribute here to Maine Won't Discriminate, the group waging the anti-discrimination campaign. If you live in Maine, sign-up to volunteer as well.
- Visit Believe in Maine, bookmark it, and engage in the discussion.
- Link to BiM from your own blog or website using the image and code here.
- If you think it's worthy, recommend this diary.
Thanks for reading and for helping to take a stand against discrimination and the politics of hate.