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Maine Activists Reattempt Marriage Redefinition The wording for the ballot question is based on a 2009 law passed by the Maine legislature but later repealed by the voters of Maine in a ballot initiative, entitled “LD 1020—An Act to End Discrimination in Civil Marriage and Affirm Religious Freedom.” The Act repealed the existing definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman, and called for “[g]ender-specific terms relating to the marital relationship or familial relationships [to] be construed to be gender-neutral for all purposes throughout the law,” and required the recognition of same-sex “marriages” performed in other states. However, Maine voters repealed the law in a November 2009 ballot initiative.. The ballot measure to repeal passed by a margin of 53 percent. In June, New York became the sixth state in the country, plus Washington, D.C., to legalize same-sex “marriage.” The Obama administration has been vocal in its opposition to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which prevents states that define marriage as the union of one man and one woman from being forced to recognize same-sex “marriages” performed in other states. “The action in Maine by homosexual activists is what we can expect in North Carolina in future years if our legislature fails to pass a bill to allow the people of our state to put the definition of marriage in the Constitution,” said Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “Although we don’t have the exact same legislative procedures as they do in Maine, we can see the constant turmoil that can be wrought in the legislative and ballot initiative process—year after year. It is time for North Carolina to join the rest of the South and the 30 states that have placed the definition of marriage in their state constitutions.”Related resources: Copyright © 2012. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.
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