Clergy host breakfast for lawmakers to press for gay marriage in Maine

A coalition of clergy members who support gay marriage in Maine attempted to persuade lawmakers at a meeting Tuesday, the day the Senate referred the bill to a committee.

If it passes as currently written, Sen. Dennis Damon's bill would repeal a law that limits marriage to one man and one woman and replace it with one that authorizes marriage between any two people.

It also says Maine would recognize marriage between two people of the same gender in another state where such marriages are valid. Damon is a Democrat from Trenton.

Opponents of the measure continued to work behind the scenes to defeat legislation that's being pushed in all New England states that don't already recognize marriages between gay couples. Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only U.S. states that allow gay marriage.

Tuesday's breakfast meeting at an Augusta hotel, hosted by about 20 clergy members, drew about 30 of the 186 state lawmakers, said the Rev. Mark Worth of the Castine Unitarian-Universalist Church. More than 60 legislators are co-sponsoring the measure.

Tuesday's meeting also included lawmakers who are undecided on the issue and some opponents, said Worth, a member of the Religious Coalition for the Freedom to Marry. The coalition, which includes more than 150 clergy members from 14 faiths, sponsored Tuesday's event

The bill comes up as Maine lawmakers face severe budget pressures, with a gap between revenues and expenses close to $1 billion. But gay marriage supporters said they are not daunted by criticism that the timing could hurt their cause.

"Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was asked at one point 'Is this the right time?'" Worth said after the meeting. "And he said that in terms of justice, now is always the right time. ... I agree there are a lot of pressing issues, and certainly equal justice is one of those important issues."

The Catholic Diocese of Portland and the Maine Family Policy Council, an evangelical group formerly called the Christian Civic League of Maine, are leading the opposition to the bill.

Marc Mutty, diocesan public affairs director, said opponents are keeping a low profile as the bill begins its route through the Legislature. It has set up a Web site, www.mainemarriageinitiative.com, and in November, Bishop Richard Malone issued a letter to be read at weekend Masses opposing gay marriage.

Mutty said supporters' attempts to actively woo lawmakers to their side so early could backfire. On Valentine's Day, dozens of the bill's supporters gathered outside the Maine House and Senate chambers to distribute cards while urging support for the same-sex marriage legislation.

"If you harass them too early and too often, you lose their interest quickly," Mutty said.

Opponents staged a Rally for Marriage in February during which Michael Heath, executive director of the Maine Family Policy Council, saluted legislators opposing Damon's bill.