BANGOR (AP) — The coalition spearheading a campaign to legalize gay marriage in Maine said Wednesday it’s gained new supporters representing members of the clergy and faith communities.
Mainers United for Marriage said at a news conference that 350 members of the clergy representing 20 different denominations in 158 Maine towns are supporting the referendum to allow same-sex weddings in Maine. The issue will appear on the Nov. 6 ballot.
One of the coalition partners includes Jewish and Christian groups involving Baptists, Catholics, Congregationalists, Episcopalians, Lutherans, Methodists, Quakers, Unitarians and 12 other denominations.
Religious groups, however, remain divided over the question, as they were when Maine voters repealed a gay marriage law in 2009.
Protect Marriage Maine, which opposes the referendum, claims support of religious groups. In June, opponents of gay marriage began their fundraising efforts with collections at scores of churches throughout the state.
The Christian Civic League of Maine, an evangelical group with close ties to churches that was not active in the 2009 referendum, has joined the campaign against gay marriage this time.
The division between religious groups is perhaps most visible within the Roman Catholic Church. In June, more than 100 Maine Catholics, including Portland Mayor Michael Brennan and former Gov. John Baldacci, marched in a Portland parade to show support for the ballot measure.
Catholics for Marriage Equality Maine, which supports civil marriage for same-sex couples, said hundreds of Catholics and other religious people have asked the Secretary of State’s office to clarify the proposed ballot question to say no religion or clergy would be required to perform a same-sex marriage in violation of their religious beliefs.
Secretary of State Charlie Summers has until 5 p.m. July 30 to decide whether to revise the question from his original proposal, which asks, “Do you want to allow same-sex couples to marry?”
“Catholics across the state have sent a clear message to Secretary Summers. They want a ballot question that is as accurate as possible. The question as proposed by his office, with the absence of the religious exemption language, is incomplete. The truth is — regardless of the wording — the religious exemption remains intact,” Frank O’Hara of Catholics for Marriage Equality Maine said in a statement.
Officially, the Catholic Church opposes the referendum proposal.
Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Richard Malone, the bishop of the diocese encompassing Maine, as apostolic administrator in Portland so he can continue to lead the church’s fight against the legalization of gay marriage. Malone is to be installed as bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo, N.Y., next month.
Washington state and Maryland also have same-sex marriage referendums this fall, and Minnesota voters will decide whether to pass a constitutional amendment to ban it. Gay marriage is currently legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Washington, D.C.
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