State lawmakers
gave final approval Wednesday night to a bill to protect
gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people from
discrimination. It was signed Thursday by Gov. John
Baldacci. The bill amends the Maine Human Rights Act by
making it illegal to discriminate in employment, housing,
credit, public accommodations, and education based on sexual
orientation or gender identity.
"This act not only offers essential civil rights but
serves as a welcome," Baldacci said upon signing the bill
into law. "Our doors are open to all people. This is a proud
day for Maine."
"We're thrilled," said Betsy Smith, executive
director of Equality Maine, a gay and lesbian advocacy
group. "We believe the democratic process of government
happened here."
Maine is the 16th state to ban discrimination on the
basis of sexual orientation. Among those, five others, plus
the District of Columbia, also ban discrimination on the
basis of gender identity: California, Illinois, Maine,
Minnesota, New Mexico, and Rhode Island. Ten additional
states protect gay and lesbian citizens from discrimination
but do not mention gender identity as a protected
characteristic: Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,
Vermont, and Wisconsin.
"Most Americans believe that employees have the right
to be judged on the quality of their work, not on extraneous
factors like race, sex, religion, or how well they measure
up to preconceived notions about masculinity or femininity,"
said Riki Wilchins, executive director of GenderPAC, a group
that lobbies and educates on gender issues. "Maine has done
the right and just thing by making clear that all of us
should be able to contribute our talents and skills,
regardless of whether those abilities were once considered
traditionally masculine or exclusively feminine."
The Maine state senate approved the bill 25-10; the
house voted 91-58. There was no debate in either chamber.
The measure gained ground Wednesday with agreement to an
amendment addressing concerns the law would be a gateway to
same-sex marriage. The amendment says the law "may not be
construed to create, add, alter, or abolish any right to
marry that may exist" under state or federal law.
"The people of Maine are now one gigantic step closer
to equality," said Joe Solmonese, president of the national
gay rights group Human Rights Campaign. "We laud the
legislators, and especially Governor Baldacci, for pushing
this important measure forward. Equality Maine has worked
year in and year out to make the states law
inclusive, and we congratulate them for this huge success."
An amendment to the antidiscrimination bill that
would have put the law up for a statewide vote failed in
both the house, which voted 76-74, and the senate, 22-13.
The Christian Civic League of Maine, which has led two
successful referendum efforts since 1998 to overturn
legislation banning discrimination on the basis of sexual
orientation, said it would announce its next step Thursday.
Its online newspaper said Wednesday the only way to stop the
bill is through a "people's veto" referendum. Smith said
Equality Maine would wage a campaign to preserve the new
law.
