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Maine, USA: NOM Still Fighting Disclosure Ruling

Sunday, April 7th, 2013

NOM continues to refuse to turn over details of its donors in the fight against marriage equality in Maine. The Press Herald reports:

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court will hear arguments this week on a national anti-gay-marriage group’s efforts to keep its donor list confidential. The National Organization for Marriage is appealing a Superior Court judge’s decision refusing to vacate subpoenas issued by the Maine Ethics Commission demanding the names of NOM’s donors in a 2009 gay marriage referendum.

Any bets on whether they’ll actually turn over the information if the SJC rules against them?

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Posted in Lawsuits, Maine, Marriage Equality/Gay Marriage, NOM | 1 Response »
Tags: appeal, disclosure, election laws, Gay Marriage, maine, marriage equality, national organization for marriage, nom, same sex marriage

Maine, USA: Does Senator Susan Collins Support Marriage Equality?

Sunday, April 7th, 2013

Now that former Maine Senator Olympia Snowe has revealed that she supports marriage equality, eyes have trned to Maine’s other moderate GOP Senator, Susan Collins. The Advocate reports:

Consider the curious case of Susan Collins, the moderate from Maine. Voters in her state in 2012 overturned a ban on same-sex marriage by 53% to 47%, and gays and lesbians now can marry there. And Collins has a long record of supporting LGBT causes in the Senate, starting with voting against amending the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Still, she vaguely told the Associated Press as recently as Wednesday when asked if she supports marriage equality that, “My philosophy has been to stay out of state issues.”

It’s historically been very rare for a sitting republican politician to endorse marriage equality – very few of the republicans who signed the GOP brief against Prop 8 and DOMA were still in office at the time. But Senator Portman’s endorsement may have changed that – time will tell.

Find more articles and gay wedding resources in Maine.

Posted in Maine, Marriage Equality/Gay Marriage, Politicians, Republicans, US Senate | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, gop, maine, marriage equality, republican, same sex marriage, senator susan collins

Maine, USA: Lesbian Couple Wins $100,000 Dream Wedding

Sunday, March 24th, 2013

A lesbian couple in Maine just won the wedding of their dreams from a Maine Magazine. LGBTQ Nation reports:

A Maine magazine has awarded a dream wedding valued up to $100,000 to a same-sex couple in its annual wedding contest. Real Maine Weddings says Jenna Eagleton and Caroline Currie of Portland were chosen from among three finalist couples. The announcement was made Sunday at the Maine Wedding Association Bridal Show in Freeport.

To win, they had to submit a video telling the magazine why they deserved to win. They’re such a cute couple – we wish you two many happy years together.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: lesbian couple, maine, wedding contest

Maine, USA: 150 Same Sex Couples Married So Far

Monday, March 4th, 2013

Maine same sex couples are taking advantage of the new marriage equality law, but the population’s simply much smaller than neighboring Massachusetts, Boston.com reports:

About 2,360 same-sex couples were married in Massachusetts the first month alone after its gay-marriage law went into effect in 2004, according to the Boston-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders organization. In contrast, about 150 gay couples have exchanged vows in Maine since same-sex marriage became legal Dec. 29. While the new law has given hotels, photographers, florists and others a boost, many say they’re not anticipating a bonanza from same-same couples right off the bat, but still expect the gay marriage business to grow in the years ahead.

The article also points out that Maine is surrounded by other choices for same sex couples:

“Maine is in a much different position than Massachusetts in 2004,” Swislow said. ”If you wanted to get married then, this was it.”Now, in addition to Massachusetts, gay marriage is legal in neighboring New Hampshire, six other states and the District of Columbia.

Still, Maine would be a beautiful place to get married…

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, gay weddings, lesbia weddings, maine, marriage equality, same sex marriage, same sex weddings

Maine, USA: 78% Say Marriage Equality Had No Negative Impact

Tuesday, January 29th, 2013

On Top Magazine reports that the majority of Mainers have no problem with the marriage equality law:

According to a Public Policy Polling survey of 1,268 Maine voters conducted between January 18 and 20, seventy-eight percent of respondents said allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry has either had no impact or a positive impact on their lives.

The sky didn’t fall after all.

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, maine, marriage equality, poll, same sex marriage

Maine, USA: New Poll Shows Support for Marriage Equality Remains Strong

Saturday, January 26th, 2013

A new Public Policy Poll of Maine voters shows that marriage equality retains strong support in the state almost three months after its passage, and a month after gay and lesbian couples began marrying in the state:

53% of Maine voters think same-sex marriage should be allowed in the state while 43% think it should not. When asked whether the legalization of same-sex marriage in Maine had a positive or negative impact on their life, or it has not had an impact at all, 61% said it has had no impact at all while 17% said it has had a positive impact and 22% said it has had a negative impact.

“78% of Maine voters- including a majority of people who voted against it in November- say that gay marriage being legal in the state is not having an adverse impact on their lives,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “For all the debate over the years it’s turning out not to be a big deal for the vast majority of voters in the state.”

That’s a slight uptick from the final Maine marriage equality poll before the 2012 election, when 52% supported marriage equality in Maine and 45% opposed it.

Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, maine, marriage equality, poll, same sex marriage

Featured Gay Friendly Wedding Vendor: Jonathan’s Ogunquit, Ogunquit, Maine

Wednesday, January 16th, 2013

Periodically we’ll feature one of our vendors here to let our readers know about some great people who can help you plan the perfect wedding.

Welcome to Jonathan’s Ogunquit – an original Ogunquit restaurant, concert and event venue. Jonathan’s has been serving the Ogunquit community for more than thirty six years, and we are proud to serve the gay/lesbian community by offering a gay friendly venue for your wedding ceremony, reception, and more!

We offer 3,000 square feet of ballroom space, with lots of room for your wedding or reception! The ballroom has elevator access, a full bar, restrooms, stage, dance floor, and a banquet kitchen – everything you could ask for!

We work hard to meet your needs, and we’re very flexible and personable. We offer a number of packages according to what our past guests have requested, but we’re also happy to customize a menu for your event.

See the Jonathan’s Ogunquit Expanded Listing on Purple Unions Here

Gay Friendly Wedding Vendors in Maine

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Tags: gay weddings, Jonathan's Ogunquit, lesbian weddings, maine, ogunquit

Maine, USA: Same Sex Couples Finally Marrying

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

The first gay and lesbian couples to wed under Maine’s new same-sex marriage law exchanged vows early on Saturday in a series of spare but joyous civil ceremonies held shortly after midnight.

“We finally feel equal and happy to be living in Maine,” an exuberant Steven Bridges, 42, said shortly after he and his newly wedded husband, Michael Snell, 53, became the first couple at City Hall in Maine’s largest town to tie the knot.

After the pair had filled out the necessary paperwork, the city records clerk, Christine Horne, performed the brief, no-frills ceremony, pronouncing the two men married as they exchanged rings and kissed. Snell’s two adult daughters, both from a previous heterosexual marriage, looked on smiling.

Authored By Daniel Lovering – See the Full Story at Yahoo News

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Posted in Uncategorized | No Responses »
Tags: Gay Marriage, maine, marriage equality, same sex couples, same sex marriage, weddings

Maine, USA: Christian Group Tries to Guilt Clerks Into Refusing to Issue Marriage License

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

With Maine’s marriage equality law taking effect on Saturday, Dec. 29, Carroll Conley and Bob Emrich of the anti-gay Christian Civic League of Maine are pressing town clerks to shirk their duties by refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

“We want you to know that as the leaders in the Christian Civic League it’s our responsibility to provoke you to consider what is that in your hand. What is that in your hand? Maybe the Lord’s calling you to consider maybe not just retiring, not just quitting but maybe to be that one or those that stand up,” Conley stated in the recent “Help for Clerks and Notaries” episode of CCLM’s Faith Matters in Maine radio show.

“Provoke” is one way to put it. “Religious emotional blackmail” might be more accurate. Conley and Emrich really lay it on thick.

Authored By Laurel Ramseyer – See the Full Story at Pam’s House Blend

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Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Response »
Tags: Christian Civic League, Gay Marriage, maine, marriage equality, marriage license, same sex marriage, town clerks

Maine, USA: Video of First Same Sex Couple to Legally Marry

Saturday, December 29th, 2012

Steven Bridges and Michael Snell became the first same-sex couple to legally marry in Maine last night, and they were greeted by hundreds of cheering supporters who broke into “All You Need Is Love.”

Check out video of their singing, as well as video interviews with freshly married Maine couples and the local ABC affiliate’s report from this morning