Five years ago today an astounding thing happened. Over 5,000 citizens came to make their feelings know at a Judiciary Committee hearing on the merits of a bill introduced by State Senator Dennis Damon which would allow same-sex marriage in Maine.
April 22, 2009 Augusta Civic Center, Augusta Maine. Supporters were encouraged to wear red in a sign of solidarity.
State Sen. Damon opens the marriage equality testimony before the Judiciary Committee.
In a hearing that lasted all day and into the evening, a series of speakers laid out the legal and economic effects of the bill.
and topped it off with the personal view of what marriage equality means to thousands of loving couples.
Personal stories and friend to friend outreach were what ultimately brought ME to ME.
The Committee and the full Legislature passed the bill allowing marriage and it was signed into law May 6, 2009 by then Governor John Baldacci, seemingly capping a decades old battle. But the opponents were not done yet. Before the law could go into effect, they gathered enough signatures to put it out to referendum where the voters overturned the law.
It took three more years of diligent, focussed effort and personal outreach to finally enact Marriage Equality at the ballot box.
US Senate candidate Shenna Bellows (D-ME) has been in the thick of the fight for true Equality in Maine and in the defense of our Civil Rights for over ten years.
Among those on the stage when the announcement was made was Shenna Bellows, sharing joy in the realization that finally her friends could marry, and with
good conscience, she and her fiancé could as well.
Some day this should be the scene in all 50 states as Marriage Equality and LGBT rights become universal. If you want to keep that momentum going, you can get behind Shenna's campaign at www.bellowsforsenate.com