Maine Voters Approve Discrimination

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out – because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out – because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me – and there was no one left to speak out for me.
- Martin Niemoller

   On November 3, voters in Maine passed Referendum 1, a measure that overturns the right of same-sex couples to marry in that state.  By a margin of six percent (53-47), voters decided that discrimination against a group of their fellow citizens should be legal…again.
   Don’t fool yourself, Gentle Readers, it is discrimination.  You can quibble about the definition, but when you give one person or group the right or privilege to do something, and then solely and purposely exclude another person or group from that right or privilege…that is discrimination.  When you allow a white man to sit at a lunch counter, but not a black man…that is discrimination.  When you allow a man to vote, but not a woman…that is discrimination.  And, when you allow a “straight” person the freedom to choose – within certain legal and consensual limits – who they wish to marry, and deny equal freedom to a gay person…that is discrimination.
   In the long history of the United States, we have fought for freedom – our own and that of others.  But, we have also discriminated against many different peoples.  Black people and women fought for decades to win equal rights.  Jews, Slavs, the Irish, the Chinese, Cubans; as each new wave of immigrants has landed on our shores they have endured discrimination, and fought for acceptance…for equality.
   Sadly, even in 2009, there are people who must fight to be treated equally.  They are American citizens.  They are teachers, doctors, firefighters, police officers – the list goes on and on.  And, in a large percentage of the country, they are being denied a basic human right.
   It is, and should be, a basic human right to choose – again, within equal legal and consensual limits – the person you wish to marry, whether that person is another man, another woman, a Jew or a Gentile; whether they are black, white, yellow, red, or purple with pink polka-dots!
   That’s right.  For all the bluster and name-calling, when you get right down to it, the issue of same-sex marriage boils down to a simple matter of civil rights…of the basic human right to be treated equally.
   Opponents, of course, disagree, and they come to the debate with a slew of “talking points,” statistics, quotes from The Bible, and outright lies, which they use to stir up fear in ordinary voters and convince them that it is OK to discriminate against those who are different.
   A few of their favorite arguments are: