All day yesterday, four of us from the ACLU of Massachusetts office canvassed for the No on 1 campaign to protect marriage equality in Maine. We walked door-to-door, urging supporters to get out and vote – and to tell everyone they knew. We talked to some great folks, including one woman who wished her teenaged son could come out and vote (he’s waiting anxiously for his eighteenth birthday). She told us that her young daughter, who had medical issues, was watching the news one night and remarked, “With all the problems in the world, why would anyone care about people who just want to get married?”
We also spoke with people who believed in equality but don’t in any way, shape or form resemble any sort of liberal cliché that our opponents seem to attach to us. These were folks with pickups and big dogs and NRA stickers on their windows, proudly proclaiming, “Anyone should get to choose what they want”. It was heartening to hear, and it kept us going through what turned out to be a very long day, and an even longer night.
As we drove home from a semi-celebration in Ogunquit, Maine. we were unsure of how to feel – it was 11 PM and the final count wasn’t in yet, just random reports from precincts that we knew fairly little about, but it was looking close. As we drove closer and closer to home, the numbers took a bleak turn. Finally, the heartbreaking news came in – Maine had voted to overturn gay marriage.
This morning, I woke up in a free state, and I couldn’t help but feel privileged. I knew – and couldn’t help but lament – that so many Mainers, straight, gay or bi, were feeling the pain of knowing that their state was no longer free. Thousands are no longer eligible for the essential legal protections that a marriage grants. They can’t count themselves in with the other five states that allow full marriage equality to all citizens. I can only imagine how painful that must be.
I’m tempted to say that we have it pretty well in Massachusetts. In reality, what we have is what all states – and the citizens of all states in a free nation – SHOULD have.
We will continue to fight for equal marriage equality until we get there. We will, eventually – though it’s my sincere hope that it doesn’t take much longer.
-Danielle Riendeau
Online Communications Coordinator
ACLU of Massachusetts
www.aclum.org