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NOTE: Contribute to the Maine campaign to ensure marriage equality remains in place here, via ActBlue, and you can also help Maine Freedom to Marry. Joe has a big post up on the Maine fight.
The Christian Civic League of Maine’s Mike Heath is gloating about reaching the number of signatures needed to put “the people’s veto” re: marriage equality on the ballot. He boasts even as he tries to make the anti-equality movement look like an underdog (via e-blast from his sidekick Mike Hein, whose email handle is “twofistedmanofgod”):
The Christian Civic League of Maine is encouraged and heartened by the presentation of petitions for the people’s veto. We view the presentation of the petitions as a significant step towards defeating the radical homosexual agenda in Maine. The people of Maine are to be congratulated for their efforts, in particular, our friends and supporters who signed the petitions or helped gather signatures.
We must take a sober and measured view of the meaning of the presentation of these petitions. It shows above all, that the people of Maine are overwhelmingly opposed to same-sex marriage. But we must not become overconfident. The people of Maine should be mindful that the presentation of the petitions is not the final victory. It is rather a milestone on the road to victory. Victory in November is not a foregone conclusion. Our opposition has unlimited financial resources, a clever propaganda campaign which plays on traditional Maine values, and that most powerful factor of all, the support of the media and the liberal establishment.
The Christian Civic League of Maine‘s Mike Hein calls Pam’s House Blend:
“a leading source of radical homosexual propaganda, anti-Christian bigotry, and radical transgender advocacy.”
He is “praying that Pam Spaulding will “turn away from her wicked and sinful promotion of homosexual behavior.”
(CCLM’s web site, 10/15/07)We must also be mindful that this is a struggle that has lasted twenty years. During these twenty years, the Christian Civic League of Maine, led by its Executive Director, Michael S Heath, has been a bulwark against the gay rights movement. Nonetheless, the opposition overcame the will of the people with their persistent, incremental efforts; and they have been absolutely relentless in their pursuit of their ultimate goal, gay marriage.
We must be just as determined, and match their every effort, step by step; and when they have done their utmost, we must do a little more. This war will be won in the hearts and minds of our neighbors. If the government imposes an unfair and unjust law, as the Maine Legislature and the Governor have done with the same-sex marriage law, and if the opposition deceitfully claims that homosexual marriage is a grassroots efforts by the people of Maine, then each citizen must have his say, through public comment, then at the ballot box.
If the government and the liberal establishment seek to silence the people on a matter of conscience, then it is the duty of each citizen to make his voice heard. During the past twenty years, the Christian Civic League of Maine won two referendums, only to see same-sex marriage passed by the Legislature and signed by the Governor.
Experience tells us that our struggle will not be over with yet another vote. Our work will be finished when each and every citizen in Maine understands the false claims and insidious methods used by the homosexual rights movement. Our victory will be won when society no longer views homosexuality as normal, and same-sex marriage as desirable. To this end we must have true grit and unwavering persistence and fortitude.
The Christian Civic League will continue to stand by the people of Maine as they go forward to defend marriage, and together we will win the victory.
With his claim that each citizen has a right to have a say at the ballot box — regarding civil rights, mind you — does he really want that precedent set in his state? What else will he want to have a say on, hmmm…divorce…parental rights? Maybe the people of Maine will want to rise up and do something about the rights of fundamentalist busybodies who want to deny certain select groups of people rights.
UPDATE: BTW, watch out Heath and Hein (and the rest of these people), I may show up there to personally campaign against your hate initiative, see below the fold. Courtesy of Mike Tidmus:
12 Comments
“… has been a bulwark against the gay rights movement.”So they admit this is all about rights. They acknowledge that this is about rights for gay people. And they brag about their work denying rights to other people.
Wow, they don’t even try to hide their bigotry, do they.
Why don’t we step this up a notch and start balloting to restrict religion?Or even a Constitutional amendment. Let’s see how they feel about some group trying to take away their rights at the ballot box.
With all the lies they’re spreading now in their latest effort to raise more cash – at least we’d be making honest folks out of them by giving them a real target instead of this constant bullshit
There are plenty of parts of the country where an anti-CATHOLIC measuremight have legs. Fundies insist that Catholics aren’t “real Christians” (whatever that mans), after all, and the Vatican is “the Great Satan.” So a ballot initiative to ban “fake Christians” could win a lot of fundy support. (Anti-Catholic sentiment has deep roots in parts of America. Rutherford B. Hayes got elected governor of Ohio by promising to, in effect, drive all the Catholics out of the state.) I’d really love to see the expression on the bishops’ faces when their own damn tactics are turned against them.
Call the Referendum……Civil Equality and Religious Persecution Control Act – Usurp language from the European Union that squashed hate speech in 2007 that “make[s] incitement to racism and xenophobia a crime”. Under that law, offenders face up to three years in jail for “public incitement to violence or hatred, directed against a group of persons or a member of such a group defined by reference to race, colour, religion, descent or national or ethnic origin.” But in our version of the referendum it would specifically ban religious persecution of groups and definitely include LGBT persons.
That would throw a wrench in their machine.
Confused.
Our intentions must have changed and I missed the memo. Last thing I knew the ultimate goal of the LGBT rights movement was the wholesale rape of small children (sorry to disappoint, but I prefer my victims strong enough to fight back – it’s more of a challenge that way) the spreading of nasty diseases to good Christian virgins (a mythical creature that died out alongside the unicorn) and the mandatory homosexualisation of the American nation (which I kinda like the sound of – as long as I get Andy Roddick and Jake Gyllenhaal – but I’m not holding out any hopes for).
At least, that’s the usual bile these organisations spew.
I was just gonna point that outI do wonder about the state of mind of people that think, “Oh, they want rights do they? DENIED!”
We have an unlimited amount of money?Cool, good to know. But at least our unlimited amount doesn’t all come from out of state, and religious groups who are forced to shut down their churches and schools.
A moment of self-pity before kicking their arsesHere’s a beautiful version of Melanie performing “Look What They’ve Done To My Song, Ma”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v…
It captures the sadness that the haters have made me feel all my life.
Thanks, PamWas pleased as punch to read your post; just getting back online (4 hours’ drive from Cape Cod) and haven’t even gone through all my emails. But did get this one (and it has yet to be covered by the local media; did a quick search):
Pam, I can’t stress how beautiful Maine is in the fall!
People’s Veto? You mean Papal Veto or Mormon Veto.Will the next move be to pressure the Main Attorney General to ignore polygamous groups, just as the Utah one does at the behest of the LDS Leadership?
You mean they don’t already?
They actually admit striving to demonize LGBsI find the following line even more revealing:
This kind of thing almost makes me wish that the christianists are right about their god judging them after they die. I would love to see their attempts to justify this kind of behavior.