And Now, For Some Local Maine Flavor.

On the ballot today, Mainers are being asked - and I'm not kidding - if a law currently in place that protects gays and lesbians from discrimination in housing, loans, and the workplace, is a bad idea.

Much to my own embarrassment, considering I am a resident here, the people of Maine have twice said in the 1990's - "no, we really don't feel they should be protected." They later added, "Fags!"

The battle up here has been really amusing, because there are "good Christian" folk who are pouring money, effort, and Church supper time into scaring the hell out of voters in Maine over "them dang queers runnin' everything."

How are they doing that? Here is the exact question below as phrased on the ballot:

"Do you want to reject the new law that would protect people from discrimination in employment, housing, education, public accommodations and credit based on their sexual orientation?"

What do the vote Yes on 1 crowd put up for signs?

"Protect Marriage. Vote Yes on 1."

Are you kidding me? Protect marriage? We're trying to keep a law that makes it illegal to fire certain minorities and we're talking about marriage on the political signs?

In fact, the law itself protects people from discrimination and has an interesting clause in it, specifically dealing with marriage:

"This Act may not be construed to create, add, alter or abolish any right to marry that may exist under the Constitution of the United States, the Constitution of Maine or the laws of this State."

Yet the conservatives will have you thinking your marriage ends immediately if the ban is upheld.

Actually, this makes perfect sense. Conservatives get people to the polls based on one emotion and one emotion alone: fear. They scare the shit out of you.

Vote Nixon, or the Commies will eat you and your children.
Vote Reagan, or the welfare queens will take over.
Vote Bush I, or you'll be taxed to death.
Vote Bush II or the terrorists will kill you and your pets.
Vote Yes on one, because if we don't ban gay people from housing, your wife will find out about that hooker in Portland you keep screwing.

What's further, is that you can tell a lot about an issue or a politician based on who leads the charge for their vote. This is why when Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson were jumping up and down when Bush was "elected," and scientists, college professors and the entire rest of the world looked concerned, it gave voters all they really needed to know about the candidates.

Enter the ring-leader of the Christian Civic League leader of Maine, Satan himself, or as Yes on 1 voters refer to him, Michael Heath.

Just to give you some background on this pathetic, small man, just last year he tried to use the Christian Civic League's web site to solicit information on which Maine lawmakers might be gay - in order to out them for the entire world to see. What a sweetheart.

Other groups supporting Mr. Heath are various Republican groups (shocker), and other small Christian organizations (another shocker) with words like "concerned," or "moral" in their name.

As far as the No on 1 crowd is concerned - they only have the backing of every major newspaper in the state (including the Maine Sunday Telegram, Kennebec Journal, Portsmouth Herald, Morning Sentinel, Lewiston Sun Journal and Ellsworth American), as well as:

Maine's governor, the Maine Chamber of Commerce, the Maine Council of Churches, League of Women Voters, Maine Education Association, the Maine NAACP, Christians for Justice, Maine Innkeepers Association, Greater Bangor Area Central Labor Council, Commission for Witness Life, Maine Conference, United Church of Christ, Maine Nurse Practitioners Association, American Association of University Women (Maine), American Academy of Pediatrics, Maine State Employees Association, Maine Psychological Association, the Religious Coalition Against Discrimination, Dirigo Alliance, National Association of Social Workers (Maine Chapter),
Maine Nurses Association, and on and on and on.

The Yes on 1 response to all this opposition? They steal signs.

For an FAQ on why this legislation is important, go here.