Maine's delayed
gay rights law takes effect

Maine became the last New England state to legally protect gay men and lesbians from discrimination Wednesday as a law that voters refused to repeal last month went on the books. The law took effect without fanfare. The state's Human Rights Commission expected no flood of complaints because the gay rights law is not retroactive. "We've been getting calls occasionally and told people we can't accept complaints until today," commission executive director Patricia Ryan said Wednesday. "We don't expect to get 10 or 20 or 50 such calls." The bulk of complaints to the commission historically have involved discrimination based on disabilities, followed by gender and whistle-blower cases, Ryan said. Maine voters on November 8 rejected, 55%-45%, an initiative to repeal a legislatively enacted law to outlaw (in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and education) discrimination based on sexual orientation. It adds new protections to Maine's Human Rights Act while making Maine the sixth and final state in New England to adopt a law banning discrimination against gays and lesbians. Maine's law was enacted after a 30-year effort and the defeats by voters of two previous measures. Pat Peard, who has been involved in the effort to enact a law for more than a decade, said she did not expect to see a wave of complaints as the law takes effect. "The importance of the day is, it's finally happened, and Maine citizens have an extra measure of protection they didn't have before," said Peard. Boston-based organization Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders marked the day by updating its publication that covers legal issues to include information on Maine's new law. GLAD also said it is recruiting additional Maine-based attorneys for its legal referral service. "GLAD worked very hard with our partners in Maine to make this day a reality," said Lee Swislow, the group's executive director. "Now we stand ready to see that Mainers know about their new rights and that the law is implemented and enforced." Opponents of Maine's law have maintained it's a step toward same-sex marriage in the state. Maine has a domestic-partner registry, but it also has a statute that defines marriage as the union of one man and one woman. A push for a state constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage remains a possibility. "We'll be making a decision soon after the New Year," said Michael Heath, executive director of the Christian Civic League of Maine. (AP)