Maine
EqualityMaine Announces Push for Homosexual Marriage
By Staff
Mar 27, 2008 - 3:48:24 PM

Congressman Michaud Praised Again for Pro-Transgendered Stand

Congressman Mike Michaud

On Saturday evening, March 8, EqualityMaine held its 24th Annual Awards Dinner at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland.  Attending the event and speaking to the homosexual audience, but not listed publicly prior to the event, were U.S. Congressmen Mike Michaud and Tom Allen, and Maine Attorney General Steven Rowe.

Michaud is running for re-election against GOP Candidate Professor John Frary this fall.  Allen is the Democrat U.S. Senate candidate this fall.  Rowe made news last year by recusing himself from Portland's King Middle School prescription contraceptive investigation due to his wife's involvement as the head nurse for Portland's schools.  He has also recently indicated his interest in becoming Maine's Governor in 2010.

Rowe's department promotes the idea of "sexual orientation" and "transgendering" in 200 Maine public schools through his "Civil Rights Team" program.  Taxpayers pay $250,000 a year to operate the after school groups.  Rowe told League executive director Mike Heath in 2005 that the groups have nothing to do with morality.

Transcripts of the remarks by Michaud, Allen, and Rowe at the homosexual awards dinner were not made publicly available by EqualityMaine on their website.

Maine A.G. Steve Rowe

The group did, however, publicly release transcripts of the remarks that evening by their Public Policy Director, Darlene Huntress, regarding federal homosexual special rights legislation, and by their Executive Director, Betsy Smith, regarding their push for homosexual marriage in Maine.

Huntress's remarks praised Congressman Michaud's extreme position favoring special federal rights not only for homosexuals and bi-sexuals, but also for the transgendered.  Her comments read, in part:

"When you remove gender identity and expression protections, you make even more vulnerable the most vulnerable—our trans brothers and sisters...

"Most importantly, the story of ENDA 2007 showed us that we have finally begun the process of recognizing our transgendered brothers and sisters as an important and necessary part of who we are.

"There were seven members of the US Congress who voted against the non-inclusive ENDA because they didn’t want to leave a portion of the [homosexual] community behind.  Five of them were from New York.  One of them was from New Jersey.  And it is with great pride, and extreme gratitude, that I tell you this:  the seventh? Our own [Maine 2nd District] Congressman Mike Michaud..."

Congressman Tom Allen

Equally alarming, but even more unabashedly revealing, were Smith's remarks regarding EqualityMaine's agenda for legalizing homosexual marriage in Maine.  She referenced the Christian Civic League of Maine's opposition to special homosexual rights in the late 1990s.   Her comments read, in part:

"Whether or not you agree that the freedom to marry is a worthwhile goal or appropriate strategy, or whether it’s just not your issue, one thing is clear—[homosexual] marriage is here to stay.

"And since [the issue of homosexual marriage] is here to stay, we [homosexuals] have two choices: we can get out front and frame the issue of marriage ourselves, or we can let our opposition do it.

"Hark back to ‘97-‘98 when our opposition got out front and framed the issue of non-discrimination as 'special rights.'  We lost two referendum campaigns because voters thought the non-discrimination law provided special rights to LGBT [Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, and Transgendered] people.  

"We must never let this happen again. From now on, we frame our own issues—and we do this by getting out and talking about [homosexual] marriage—about our lives as loving, committed [homosexual] couples, about our children and relatives, our dogs and cats, and our tragedies and joys.

EQME Gay Marriage T-Shirts

"One of our strategies for framing [homosexual] marriage is the creation of a storybook: real-life portraits of LGBT families, to be shared with allies, people of faith, elected officials, and the media.  This storybook will be an important piece of our public education campaign on marriage.

"[Homosexual] marriage, for better or worse, is the next great civil rights movement."

T-Shirts were available at the awards dinner with the EqualityMaine logo on the front and the words "Marriage Is For Everyone."  They were sold for $20 each at the event, which also required a $60 per plate registration cost to be paid.