Same-sex marriage foes rally in capital

I'm not religious by any means, but I don't support the gay agenda

the parts just don't fit O_O

Supports right of individuals to choose partners regardless of sexual orientation. Supports recognition of equal rights to gay, lesbian, transsexual or bisexual citizens in housing, jobs, medical benefits, marriage and child custody. I have a friend getting married with the same sex under the help of the site **BiLoves dotcom** (a site for exploring sexuality, coming out,enjoying life, etc. And there are about 150 members per day and they are very great). And they live happily and wonderfully.If you come here frequently, you may find what you are looking easily and quickly.

This is not a religious matter it is a civil matter.

Plain and simple.

There's big money to be had in opposing this bill and the churches are out to get all of it!

Mainelyme

And how old is this Tony Perkins from Lousianna's wife?

12 years old?

Perley J. Thibodeau

Mainelyme

The marriage laws of the south allow legal adolesent rape and sexual child abuse!

Mainelyme

Of course, with so many Catholic Churches in Lousianna the church also goes by the red neck law and motto;;

"If they're big enough then they're old enough and if they are twelve or thirteen years old then they must be big enough!

Mainelyme

That's Thibodeau with no x!

Perley J. Thibodeau

Mainelyme

New York, New York

"Get 'em young and raise 'em right!"

Mainelyme

I'll rally in favor of same sex marriage when the gay community rallies with me for legalized cannabis.

It's great to see the strong support for traditional marriage, and I hope the gays will get over this soon. They should have the same benefits of marriage, but let them just use a different word like union. We have much bigger problems to deal with these days, like people losing their jobs and homes, so the gay crowd should simmer down a bit...try taking a cold shower, it does wonders for us straight folks.

You religious people really need to get over yourselves. Why do you care what someone else does? 50% of "traditional" marriages end in divorce. That's a really sacred union that we have to protect. I'm straight, and married, but I don't choose to try to jam my beliefs down others' throats. Just live your own life.

Republican House member Richard Cebra of Naples urged the crowd “to put on the armor of God.” -

Where was that armor when all of the priests where touching little boys?

Tony Perkins? The guy from the Bates Motel???

Thank you Michael Heath for your tireless energy in opposing this immoral behavior

People from MONSON came and supported gay rights?

wow.

To Rev Rolfe...when you're playing cheerleader for a session of gay-bashing, a purple shirt might not be your best choice. I guess the word "irony" isn't in the bible. :)

This law is against the people of Maine.WE have to defeat this at all cost.WE want our young people to marry and have children not marry there own gender.Vote NO never in MAINE. Vote the elected leaders out of office that want this type of laws they are not fit to lead.SEN DENNIS DAMON HAS GOT TO GO.VOTE HIM OUT SOON !

This world would be a better place if people minded their own business. If it isn't HURTING you or anyone else then but out. Its a Free country, well it was before Bush.

It is hurting the family .This is not the way God wants a family.THIS IS WRONG PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

4Him2Day - I knew you'd be posting on here as soon as I read the headline. Tell me, eactly what is immoral about two adults loving one another and wanting to enter into a legal arragement that will allow them to care for one another if one of them gets sick? I think this is exactly the kind of behavior that Jesus was trying to teach us. If you'd read the bible for content, instead of trying to pick lines of text to support this or that, then you might have a better understanding of the God that you think your worshipping. And please, don't start bombing me with citations from the bible, it would be refreshing to have a more intelligent debate than that for once.

Mousehunt...I'm gay and part of the "people of Maine" to which you refer. There are thousands of Mainers who support marriage equality, so you might want to refrain from statements like your opening sentence of 07:24. It's a bit arrogant.

Why is it that critics of this proposed legislation are primarily concerned by the sexual aspects of same gender alliances? Will public fornication be part of this bill? Where is the evidence of what god wants and which god wants what; Buddha, Allah, just which deity is calling the shots and where is the empirical data supporting the existence of this mythical being???

bangorian, how do you seperate Jesus from the bible?????

Possibly if your spelling was correct.

God is not going to answer to a tribunal of people. Gods laws are clear. When someone says they know God then they must pray for grace to walk away from sin and live a life that is pleasing in the eyes of God. We all fall short but to purposely mock Gods law to satisfy our pleasures and desires is sin in the eyes of God. There is nothing good and pleasing that comes out of a homosexual relationship. It does not bear the fruit of holiness. We are all called to be holy....no matter what state of life we are in. That is what we were created to be. A holy people.

Folks, Mainelyme is correct.

The civil law of this state and this nation is not founded on religious doctrine.

Talk about Jesus all you want... recite bible passages all you want. It has no bearing on civil law.

I'm still not clear on why folks can't see that, because if you do believe that our civil law is based upon your religious doctrine, you've much bigger fish to fry than this... starting with the Bill of Rights.

Hey seacoast...........If you want a gay community, you all need to live in one remote part of the world. Then, since you won't be able to procreate, you'll all be gone soon enough. Support M.A.G., helping to keep Maine straight. Oh, the state Motto, "Maine, the way life should be", didn't have you in mind. In the short term, you could move to Provincetown, MA or San Francisco.

Okay...we won't go with Gods law. We'll go with common sense. We'll go with the order of nature. Common sense says that the body is not designed for man and man , woman and woman sexual relationship.

Procreation is not a requirement for marriage. There are many, many happily married couples around this land that have no children, so that "common sense" is out.

And homosexuality exists all over the animal kingdom, so I'd not be so hasty to say it's against the "order of nature".

911: Maine has a gay community, so you might want to get used to it. By the way, you left out Ogunquit in your list of gay-destination places. Last time I checked, it was in Maine. As for our state motto being a straights-only reference, what makes you think that?

I really feel sorry for people like you who have such a narrow view in life. You're missing so much. We’re you raised in a xenophobic family or did you develop that attitude as an adult?

Tedlick...but animals do not get married. So we may say there is a disorder in the nature the of these animals if they are behaving in a homosexual way because it is not natural. It is out of order with nature. I've also seen cows with two heads...

How does same gender marriage as a civil union (or otherwise for that matter) do any harm to the "institution " of marriage? I see spousal abuse, child abuse, divorce, no spousal support, adultery, etc, etc, etc, as much greater threat to the "institution "of marriage. Get all of these heterogender married folks to clean up their acts and then you might have an "institution" worth defending.

Searoses, didn't I read somewhere that you have a husband, and that you're gay? I know it's none of my business, but I can't help but wonder, how does that work?

From a gay rights proponent: “Marriage is not just about rights and privileges; it’s about love,”

What kind of muddle-headed thinking is that? Not everyone who loves is married to the person(s) who they love, and not everyone loves the person they are married to. It's a plain fact. Marriage and love are two different things.

Statements like the above show the inability of the gay-rights supoorters to think clearly. Following their logic, they think that once the glow of "love" passes, as it ALWAYS does, even for just a time, then the marriage should be dissolved. And it is THAT kind of thinking that shows the true threat they pose to stable, tradistional marriage.

We could also say, it's just natural. I've also seen people with two heads.

And I never said animals got married. For that matter, I didn't bring animals into it at all.

I'm just pointing out that this is yet another matter of civil law for our government to deal with, not our preachers, pastors, priests, or deacons. There are many factors of the civil law of this land, but this is the one that christians jump on so quickly.

If christians want their doctrine to be the dictate of civil law, they're going to be very busy, and this fight will seem trivial.

Here go the religious nut jobs again trying to turn the USA into a Saudi Arabia or Iran or some other fundamentalist religious society. They are preparing to let the biblical verses fly... what a load of bullspit.

hey 911patriot... you sound like a fascist to me. What ever happened to the true values of the USA...life liberty and the pursuit of happiness? guess you choose to ignore them... just like separation of church and state.

I think religion is THE most dangerous aspect of society today. All the feeble minded people who believe in some sky god (be it Islam, Christianity...) they create wars, hate based upon their "beliefs" . YES... THEY DO PROMOTE FEAR AND WAR as Republican House member Richard Cebra of Naples urged the crowd “to put on the armor of God.” She really needs to leave government and go serve on some mission to Africa or elsewhere... Bring peace and goodwill, instead of inspiring fear and hate.

Yes, religion besides going the fear and hate route are going to ignore science where it shows that virtually all animals have some of its population that engages in same sex behaviors. There are critters with both sex organs. Yet, we will just ignore science and the progress of the last several hundred years to follow "the book". AND we will try to pursuade people that they must follow the "old ways" as prescribed in "the book".

I am sorrybut please keep your religion out of my life and I promise that I will keep mine out of yours.

Eliz: You might better serve your argument by sticking with your scriptures...you're not making much sense in the real world. Homosexuality is very natural and has been part of the human condition throughout history. We simply want what straight people take for granted: marriage.

If there’s no reproduction required and it remains between two consenting adults, there’s no valid argument against it. You simply have to understand that being gay is not a choice…it’s our nature.

Everyone seems to be overlooking the possible tax implications that legalizing same sex marriages could bring. If a couple of business partners want to part ways without paying taxes on the transaction, they could simply marry and immediately divorce with one partner retaining sole ownership of the business; and the other walks away with a nice divorce settlement.

God loves ALL equally. All He desires is a relationship with Him. That meeting in Augusta was NOT an example of the love Christ desires all us to show toward others. It was a meeting showing JUDGEMENT toward those who have different opinions and livestyles.

> I wish that all the faithful shared your view... unfortunately religion is frequently hijacked and misused.

Kate123,

You stupid liberals can't get enough Bush bashing. Under President Bush, America was still a free country. It is your beloved President Obama that is Nationalizing the banks that received the bailout money. (Can you say Soviet Union) It was also your beloved slime ball Bill Clinton that signed the bill forcing banks to lend to the credit unworthy. It was also Clinton who passed up the opportunity to get Bin Laden without having to go to war, three times!!! Bush took office and had to clean up because of Clinton's inability to quit shagging interns long enough to actually run the country.

Then how will the homosexual community keep it's self in existance if they cannot procreate? Oh yah..cloning....

seacoast...you don't like it when we quote scripture and you don't like it when we talk about the laws of nature. If we found something in nature that was out of the order of nature ...like a two headed cow... would we want to encourage the increase of two headed cows?

Bangorian,

Jesus would approve of gay marriage?!!! Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention when reading the Bible, where exactly does it discuss Jesus' gay orgy with his twelve apostles? Idiot!!

excuse me...whattayaDONTknow: Bush started nationalizing banks. Obama's been in office for only a few weeks. The first $350 billion was under BUSH's watch.

Bush is a proven catastrophic failure... Too bad you ignorant republicans aren't even giving Obama a chance... sore losers

All of you gay marriage supporters act like you're being dicriminated against. Nobody told you that you cannot get married, you Just can't marry someone of the same sex. I'm not allowed to marry another man either but you don't hear me complaining. If you want to get married; get married, it just can't be someone with the same equipment.

Freewill,

Buddha is not a god. Muslim, Judaism, and Christianity all believe in the same God, and God says that for a man to lay with another man as he would his wife is a sin.

Homosexuals are born out of heterosexual relationships every day. The homosexual population will continue because the human population will continue.

I don't see anybody on here encouraging homosexuality, they're just accepting that it's a part of life.

From a poster: "I think religion is THE most dangerous aspect of society today."

Hmmm... No hate here.

By the way, Stalin thought the same thing. And he killed tens of millions in pursuit of his atheist agenda.

I don't read your work of fiction called the bible, which isn't actually the word of god... just mans supposed interpretation of it. At least in Islam, the Koran is supposed to be the direct word of god as told by mohammad, not some hodgepodge of Peter, Paul, Simon and whoever....

Elizabethann,

I'm on your side; however, one does not have to be gay to produce a gay child. Your whole no procreating argument is senseless. If only gay people could produce gay offspring then gays would never have existed.

whattayaknow,

God also commands that no one have any gods other than him... but our constitution guarantees us the right to choose any god we wish.

God also says adultry is a sin: but it is not against the law.

God also says that to lie is to commit sin: but (with few legal exceptions) lying is not a crime.

Civil law is not based upon religious doctrine.

I'm sorry. Did Michael Heath, who has been trying to ram his religious beliefs down the entire state's collective throats for as long as I can remember, just call ME selfish???? Is this the same guy who would amend the constitution -- which effects us ALL -- so that it better reflects his own narrow views? I am so tired of these people trying to impose their religion on the rest of us. Get a real issue, will you? With all of the work that needs to be done, all of the issues that could use some organizing power, all of the real suffering that goes on -- this is the best use of their time? And then he gets to turn around and call US selfish? SELFISH??? Seriously?

DowneastDimwit,

Bush created the initial bailout phase. It was Obama who nationlized the banks when he released the second phase of bailout money. Bush's first phase was a goverment loan, Obama took ownership in the banks. Do some research Dimwit.

WOW! To each is there own. This I agree. It is to bad that it is okay to boast ideas and be so proud. I do it very often. The real fact is, that we are advancing at such a fast rate that eventually it wont matter what WASwritten in our 1st ORIGINAL books of law. You see it all over the comment section. We now no longer care what the books say. We only care about "Civil Laws". These are not to be confused w/ a book form a GOD. It hurts alot of people that get over ruled on any of these matters.

I had to discus w/ my 4 yr old why 2 dads are holding hands? Where did their kid come form? It is sad that I had no good answer. I said, the child was a gift & that the dads love each other, & help each other? Dont get me wrong, I dont want to give my child the impression that you are a bad person b/c of being different. She then said, how did they get the baby out? I was horrified. I didnt think we going that far. What is a good answer? What are wee doing? I am not sure how I feel about this?

Tommy C : Yes, Stalin is an example of a non-religious ideologue. Unfortunately, there is far more killing based on religion then his example.

here are just a few to occur in only the past twenty years... 9/11;catholic v protestant in N. Ireland; Shia v Sunni in Iraq; jews v. palestinians in Israel.

Facts: The bible is interpreted for what we want. To say that we must live exactly as it says would include a prohibition on eating shellfish, wearing mixed fibered clothing, and the death of insolent children. It would include the proper care of our slaves. It would have provisions for how we treat our property, including our wives, and yes that could be plural.

So if you want to read verse for verse from the Bible then you have to be prepared to understand that it was written at a time much different from today. It doesn't mean the main messages don't hold true, such as love, peace, goodwill towards your neighbor, then you need to read the Bible again.

As for homosexuality, there are some big misunderstandings in the posts today. Even the most conservative estimates put the number of homosexuals in the United States at 6% (ranges from about 6% to 10%). So that would mean that there are at least 18 MILLION gay people in this country. So when you talk about discriminating against "those people" it is more people than most people stop to think about. And gay people don't have gay children, that has been shown time and time again in the research. Heterosexual couples have heterosexual and homosexual children and Homosexual couples (through whichever means are available today) have heterosexual and homosexual children.

As for discrimination, unless you have been discriminated against, lose housing, jobs, be ridiculed in public or in the public eye, been denied basic health care, retirement, or joint partner benefits. Been prevented from marrying, having children, having your marriage cancelled, been beaten, been killed. Then you don't understand the harm, the damage, the humiliation that comes with discrimination.

There were times when it was illegal for interracial marriage, for interfaith marriage, yet those have gone and we base marriage on a successful union between two loving people.

Tedlick,

Where in that post did I ever mention law. I never discussed law, read things in context before you post. There is a difference between immoral and illegal. Being gay may not even be considered immoral, and it is definitely not illegal; however, it's still not right. Regardless of what other animals may do (as many want to compare human sexuality to animal sexuality) homosexuality is not natural. I had a dog that loved to hump peoples legs, yet if I grabbed onto you in a parking lot and started humping your leg; I would be arrested. Just because something exists that does not make it right or natural. One may not have the choiceof whom they are attracted to; however, one does have the choice of whether or not to act on it. Therefore, a gay lifestyle is a choice.

I think it is SO hawt when two cute lesians go at it...

*lesbians

MainelyTom,

Well said sir.

To all who value their choice of religion, or to be free from it, take note... New England is a good place to be.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89029

The very fabric of this discussion is civil law. You used scripture to explain why gay marriage is a bad thing, and my only point in these discussions is that our civil law is not based upon your particular faith, so it really has no point in this discussion.

Professing a religion is an admission of accepting one belief structure over others.

That is a choice.

tedlick is right but, hasn't delved into it deep enough yet.

Let's talk about my first spate of postings regarding marriage laws in other states that allow girls of 12 and 13 years old to be sold and married off into a lifetime of gross sexual abuse by old men of all ages.

What about the incest that is so prevalent in the south and in the state of Louisianna that this Tony Perkins has represented before he has decided he's qualified to now run the state of Maine?

Those southerners have been pounding on their family members for so long they don't even know who's related to whom.

And it shows!

The Catholic Church must go by state law. That leaves them to legally molest little girls by marrying them off to the highest bidder, and still be free for their priest to sexually abuse and destroy the lives of young altar boys that they can't marry.

If all the lesbian nuns were expelled from the catholic convents then there wouldn't be enough "Brides of Christ" left to cook and wash the dishes.

Have you gotten a look at that new guy that has taken over that old guy Heathen's place. His picture is on his web site along with a bunch of names of little old ladies whose last names only are prefaced with Ms. It's obvious he's got twenty or thirty actual or fictional followers who couldn't even get a man during non wartime when they are supposed to be plentiful.

Also, as regarding this new "preacher" that's taking Heathen's place, who took Jasper's place, the old saying holds true, "I wouldn't want to wake up in the mmorning and see that face lying on the pillow beside me!

The same tedious three that dominate all the blog threads on this subject have jumped right in again with their sorry tales of Jesus woes.

There's nothing new for them to say now as there was nothing new for them to say the first time.

The two who claim they are men just want to see their user name in print and have people pay attention to them by answering them regardless of what derogatory messages people send to them regarding their mental faculties or warped preception of the Bible that they deign to puke forth.

If they truly believe what they are saying they should stop making our computers stink from their smell and just sell their homes and send these fellow false preachers of God the full check for the real estate.

That's what these phony trouble makers want anyway. Their money not their stupid opinions.

As now, as for you Elizabethann.

I'm sure you feel that you are a sincere God loving person with the best intentions at heart to help your fellow man but, you are the only one to think so. Give your fellow man and God a break. God gave individuals a life and a brain to run it. How they do that is strictly between them and God.

Both God and human kind are fully functional, while I'm left to wonder about you.

And that"s as personal an observation that I'm going to make regarding what I have gleaned about your life from your postings. However, keep it up and then catch me the next time!

Perley J. Thibodeau

Mainelyme

, smartnup

And why would "you feel a need to tell your four year old where a gay couple's kid came from?"

Do the proper authorities know about you?

They will!

Mainelyme

Right on Mainelyme and changeneeded:

The hypocrisy is blatant. Yes, I think some should have "put on the armor of God" when (and still?) those priests were molesting children, and scarring them for life? Some of these same folks did not get outraged over that!

Mainelyme: Yes, it astonishes me also.......not much said, or much outrage (and picketing,etc.) when when there is rape,etc., and girls and women being taken advantage. Where is the outrage over those archaic and immoral practices you speak of?

I do believe it would be maybe less complicated if it were a matter of a civil union and then if a couple wanted to get married in a church, they would find a church amenable to accepting gay folks as individuals with the rights and benefits others have. (who would want to attend a church, or get married in a church, that was not amenable to that anyway??!)

They pick and choose what they want "to mind their own business" about! And yes, the "arrogance."

tedlick 9:02 AM. and Tommy C (9:24 AM) Very intelligent commentary.

"Disorder in these animals if they are acting in a homosexual way"!!!! Now I think I've heard everything!!!

God loves the animals, his creation, just as he loves ALL people.

Oh yes, and many of us believe in God and evolution. Animals, humans, do adapt to their environments. Not too hard to figure out.

No, we know who are the SELFISH and sanctiminous ones....it is becoming clearer all the time. Let's just get it clear: Homosexuality is not a choice!

Yes, but Bangorian (7:39 AM) that is exactly what they do.....with everything, including with the Bible.....pick and choose. It is so apparent. Michael Heath looks so sour to me, btw....just an observation.

Same old same old. Religion is irrelevant to equitable administration of fair civil laws. The government should not even try to define people's beliefs. The Judicial System is needed to eliminate discriminatory laws when fomented by a tyrannical majority. Mr. Heath is exactly right for once in saying, "We are for equal rights, not special rights."

If you listen to Rev. James Heard and Pastor Jim Tracy from the "Church of Life and Praise" in Ellsworth tell it: Homosexuality is a choice people make ... but then again they say that people CHOOSE to be alcoholics, drug addicts, mentally ill, die of cancer ... and pastor Tracy will love to tell you that ALL priests are child molesters .... and .... and well ... Gandhi said it best ... he said "I love your Jesus Christ. It is your Christians that I don't trust."

Eliz: Regarding your 9:48...do you even see what you're typing? Seriously...look at that opening sentence and give it some thought. Take all the time you need. Then notice how you carried that train (wreck) of thought into the cow analogy.

"God gave individuals a life and a brain to run it. How they do that is strictly between them and God."

AMEN.!!

But these folks want to poke and prod into others' business and personal lives and personal choice (re religion,etc.) It is their be-all and end-all. I think they should start their own church, or some kind of group in a physical place, and do their work. It might be more productive; those who want to be told how to think and believe, could attend. Then maybe they would be happy and more cheerful.

When these Drama Queen Preachers say they should, "put on the armor of God" do they also mean to walk in his shoes?

Those sandals take some pretty big steps!

Mainelyme

Please excuse me while I look to see what I said in the New York Times.

The Big Apple has its problems, too!

Mainelyme

God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve. Here comes the gay crowd ramming their immorality, and abnormality down our throats so that they convince themselves that they are normal.

Tedlick: Your 9:58 was excellent.

Well, so much for the problems of New York.

It's a slow Monday.

People here don't start work until ten oclock Tuesday morning then around one oclock on Wednesday afternoon they start getting ready to take off for the week end.

What was that being said about Adam and Steve?

They have to be the most popularly mentioned couple in the whole world!

Mainelyme

Mill-Rock: Adam and Steve? Old joke...very old joke. You should update your material.

Adam and Eve? Even older joke.

On 2/16/09 at 11:26 AM, seacoast wrote:

Mill-Rock: Adam and Steve? Old joke...very old joke. You should update your material.

Adam and Eve? Even older joke.

Seacoast. Anything to justify your disgusting promotion of, or your own abnormal homosexuality?????

MR: anything to justify your ignorance?

He's got his religion downeastdave.

Used to justify ignorance for 2000+ years and counting (and that's just the latest rounds of faith).

hallelujah and amen to that one.. tedlick!

Millinhocket Rocket, who made you the moral police?

Romans 2:1 Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things

My all time favorite

John 8:7 He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.

Why is it ok for people to force others to live by their moral standards? What ever happened to the separation of Church and State? It is not up to the state to 'enforce' the bible that some believe in! That is NOT what the United States of America is all about. People came here because they were persecuted for their beliefs and now we are going to do the same?

MillinocketRocket

When it's right it's right!

When are you coming out to play?

Mainelyme

MillinocketRocket :

Oooooohhhh!!

Nobody wants to play with you?

Well, we don't either!

Mainelyme

AMHI4ME,

however, if you want to place your penis into a man's mouth to make him shut up I'm all for it... i just don't want to hear this whining about how us breeders are gonna ruin the earth. not having sex with the opposite sex is jerkwads.

When my kids were in school, they were told all the kids were going to a workshop. They could choose the topics they were interested in. They had to list from 1 to 10 which topics intersted them and which didn't. One of the topics was the about alternative lifestyles. My son was not interested so put it as the least he was interested in.

When he came back from the workshop, he told me he was forced to go to the workshop on alternative lifestyles. Some of his classmates had to go also. They were given the reason that all other workshops were full so they had to attend. That was over 15 years ago. It's called indoctrination. That is what is happening.. If I would have known what I know now, I would have sued the pants off of them.

You want to live your flambouyant lifestyles ....go ahead. But don't force down our throats and that of our children.

mainely

AMHI4ME,

1. AIDS affects heterosexuals as well as homosexuals.

2. Heterosexuals engage in anal sex as well as homosexuals.

3. Procreation is not the only reason animals engage in sex.

4. Your mouth comparison is weird, cuz it involves no procreation. Honestly, it really doesn't apply, as oral sex between any two adults is not against civil law.

5. That was without doubt, the most sexist comment I've seen in postings in these forums.

6. In discussions of civil law, there exists "informed consent". According to the law, your cat is unable to to give informed consent.

amhi4me: what is your deviant fascination with what other people decide to do in their bedroom? jealousy maybe?

My computer cut out...

mainelyme...as usual you always resort to personal attacks. Which is typical.

eliz: When I was in school I was forced to say the pledge of allegiance EVERY morning (not just one workshop) which includes the reference to one nation UNDER GOD. This is not indoctrination into religion?

Elizabethann,

This is not a discussion on what and how public schools teach anything. It's a discussion on civil law, and whether or not our government should be expected to treat one socio-political-economic group different than another.

Personally, if I were to reproduce, there's no way I'd allow my progeny to attend public schools.

No one here is discussing indoctrination or school curriculum. Save that for news articles dedicated to that discussion. It is, however, a worthy discussion in it's own right. That's just not the topic of this particular news item.

AMHI: Simple layman's terms...you're an idiot. I don't often lower myself to calling other people names on a forum, but you are a total idiot.

But if it's the "ick" factor discussion that turns you on, try checking out almost any porn mag or website. I suspect you'll find all kinds of variants on what goes where...batteries not included.

MilRock: Get a clue before you start typing. How do I "justify" my nature? How do you justify your skin color? Or your apparent ignorance? Oops...skip that last one; that's a choice.

downeastdave,

Let's keep it on topic... Worthy point, as was Elizabethanne's, (what individuals want their kids to be taught in public schools) but let's try to stay focused.

The discussion is gay marriage and whether or not same sex couples should be extended the same guarantees under civil law.

If we allow it, this will degenerate very fast.

I have a sausage cock

On 2/16/09 at 12:06 PM, Elizabethann wrote:

You want to live your flambouyant lifestyles ....go ahead. But don't force down our throats and that of our children.

But Elizabethann it is ok for you to force your point of view down everyone elses throats?

FYI I am a straight woman who feels everyone should be equal and have equal protection under the laws of this land. Government is separate from the Church's for a reason! Keep it that way.

Personally, considering my own past, I think the church should be more concerned with adultery! That is one of the ten commandments! I don't see "you won't be in a committed relationship with someone of the same sex" to make the top ten sins list!

tedlick I think it has already degenerated......

"On 2/16/09 at 12:09 PM, Elizabethann wrote:

My computer cut out."..

God did it as a favor to all of us.

As I said earlier, "I haven't even started to get personal with you yet!"

Mainelyme

AMHI4ME:

I never knew sausages had one!

Mainelyme

Tedlick, my point is that religious folk are hypocritical. They want all their views heard and anything that pushes their agenda is fine. However they are unwilling to accept anything that does not fit into their narrow view of the world. They pick and choose what beliefs they forward on their agenda without regard for civil law.

what if a woman can't have children? Should she be allowed to marry a man? Or what if a man can't have children naturally should they be denied marriage as well? Should we make men and women go through testing to ensure they are able to procreate before marriage?

AMHI4ME

We really don't need you talking dirty!

Mainelyme

Searoses, you out there? I'm afraid I confused you with Seacoast - no offense intended to either of you.

I wish we still had the option of illustrating our comments with photos - I bet we could have some fun!

I was soooo happy to see the turnout for traditional marriage! It gives me hope that Mainers are not stupid to the fact that these gays are coming from everywhere and trying to get bills passed here!!! Stand Strong Mainers and vote NO to gay perversions.....Wonder how many gays showed at the CCDC meeting last nite!!! They want in and they are moving into our governmental offices to get their agenda passed...

Now what has barney frank or Paulson or mark foley, hoover's (voyeuring)..... degenerous, rosie, done in a positive manner! chase the pages???

Get them out of office as well!!!

We weren't really indocterniated but it made me feel bad that of all the people in Piscataquis County they could only find one gay man, one indian, and one black man....But there are 50 sex offenders

LMFAO

downeastdave I see your point, I'm just hoping upon hope that this discussion doesn't devolve into a debate to devolve into a morass of slung scripture.

It usually does.

So, I continue to push christians to find rational, secular reasons why gay marriage should remain an unattainable goal. Because they're scripture will not change it.

If I were a christian, I'd be pushing for a repeal of the Bill of Rights, which directly opposes one of their 10 commandments.

Instead, they cling to their "abomination" flinging scripture about one issue alone.

I don't get it.

^thats the truth

David @12:28...none taken :)

theczarofpenquis

I think I am missing something in your post..."Yeah we didn't really have to live with the different people in our town and the area, and I'm glad for that." You didn't have to live with the different people in your town?

Sorry czarofpenquis I get it now!

Czar @ 12:34...Are you sure you weren't at a Village People concert? LOL

mariahstorm

Still changing user names?

The gays and lesbians are already in government offices.

You and these other anti gay posters voted to put them there!

Mainelyme

lol

Marriage between two gay people shouldn't be encouragedany more than marriage between two mentally ill people. At least the gays can't procreate. If God wanted them get married he would have allowed them to have children.

MillinocketRocket you are sick LOL

and I thought I was bad...

although mentally retarded couples having a retard child would be hilarious

Procreation again... Old... tired.

If two heterosexual people who have no children can wed, why not homosexuals?

Dead argument is dead.

folks this has nothing to do with civil rights as tedlick loves to point out. I've been over it countless times with him, its pointless. Please go to marriage alliance website, watch the video, call or e-mail your senators, very easy to do. Get family and friends to do the same. The web site is available right on the bangor daily page covering this article. Let your voice be heard were it counts

unispun

Oh, you poor darling.

The suffering that we all must bear.

Bare?

If you'd zip up they would probably leave you alone.

Wait until you're their age and they will!

Mainelyme

No, 4Him2day, it has everything to do with civil rights... with civil law... and nothing whatsoever to do with your religion.

You'll keep trying... you'll keep preaching...

And our lawmakers, since the birth of this nation, will ignore your pleas for a theocracy.

We've heard your voice... that our government should adhere to your religion when it makes decisions on how it treats its citizenry. It has proven for over 200 years that it will not do so.

mainelyme lol... i keep it wrapped up tight but like i said... ruthless....

4him2day: why don't you try to bring back public stoning while your religion is at it? We could stone everybody that sins... adulterers, people who work on the sabbath... where is the good in this? where is love thy neighbor? Not in your brand of Christianity I suppose.

Unispun: If you're getting hit on by gay guys...well dude, you're giving out some strong gay signals, then. I'm just sayin'...

boy, the party of fear and hate is going at it strong today.....plenty of toe tappers amongst them...

In our local school we have a "no public display of affection rule" for the children. This rule is strictly enforced, as it should be. That is, unless you happen to be gay, then it is overlooked entirely. My children have come home complaining of what they have to witness while in the library, or shop, wherever. Where a boy and a girl cannot touch, a gay couple can. The teachers say nothing....why is this? Why is it ok for any sex to publicly paw at one another? I sometimes feel like a minority in my own country. We have to be politically correct for everyone, while neglecting our own beliefs.

unispun

Are you joking, baby?

I'm the one who invented the basket.

They call it a package nowaways

Mainelyme

coastalmaine,

Not the issue at hand.

Worthy discussion for it's own sake, and I'd be on your side, but this is not a discussion on schools.

Understood, I guess what I was trying to say was, it is hard for me to agree to anything concerning gay or lesbian rights, for the fear of what other right they may have, and take advantage of.

The big lie in our society is "us vs. them" You are all buying it. There is no "them" here. Gays are not "them" and neither are straights. There is only us. Some of us have religion. Some of us marry the opposite sex. Some of us fall in love with people we are not traditionally supposed to...but nevertheless it is all "us" doing all these things. Gay people are not different from straight people. They are the same stock...the same blood. They are part of "us". All this bickering and pompous religiosity is smoke and mirrors to make us believe other than the truth.

Gay people come from straight people...and some straight people come from gay people. The sooner we realize this the better we will all sleep.....peacefully with the knowledge that there is no "them" out there wanting to destroy us, our religion, our traditions.

NONE of us knows what GOD wants. NONE of us even agree on the nature of GOD. All of us are hurt by the bickering among ourselves and the degradation handed out to other people because they do not fit our view of right and wrong.

When one qoutes any passage from the holy book of any religion...let that one beware...it is with your own mind that you read and understand. When you put your own understanding above another's you are denying that other the same right you have ....to determine for yourself what is right and wrong.

There is no enemy here. Only us. And we must live together in tolerance.

MillinocketRocket

You've got too much time on the mnd

You're going to have to move from Millinocket to a place that has a little more to keep your imagination active.

I've been blogging this site, the New York Times, cooking a seafood cream sauce to pour over boiled white rice, while all the time looking down from my 20th floor kitchen window and wondering why there have been 6 NYPD cars parked out front for the past two hours.

All this and there isn't even a mail delivery today.

Mainelyme

coastalmaine,

Justified fear, sir.

When it comes up on BDN, let's have a go at that.

MillinocketRocket:

Dr. Carole Jenny and her colleagues reviewed 352 medical charts, representing all of the sexually abused children seen in the emergency room or child abuse clinic of a Denver children's hospital during a one-year period (from July 1, 1991 to June 30, 1992). The molester was a gay or lesbian adult in fewer than 1% in which an adult molester could be identified – only 2 of the 269 cases (Jenny et al., 1994).

The researchers found that homosexual males responded no more to male children than heterosexual males responded to female children (Freund et al., 1989).

Science cannot prove a negative. Thus, these studies do not prove that homosexual or bisexual males are no more likely than heterosexual males to molest children. However, each of them failed to prove the alternative hypothesis that homosexual males are more likely than heterosexual men to molest children or to be sexually attracted to children or adolescents.

http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_molestation.html

MillinocketRocket

Oh, and I just got a text message from a girl named Barbara.

Excuse me while I find out which Barbara that is!

Mainelyme

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/1/41

Results. Abuse was ruled out in 35 cases. Seventy-four children were allegedly abused by other children and teenagers less than 18 years old. In 9 cases, an offender could not be identified. In the remaining 269 cases, two offenders were identified as being gay or lesbian. In 82% of cases (222/269), the alleged offender was a heterosexual partner of a close relative of the child. Using the data from our study, the 95% confidence limits, of the risk children would identify recognizably homosexual adults as the potential abuser, are from 0% to 3.1%. These limits are within current estimates of the prevalence of homosexuality in the general community.

Conclusions. The children in the group studied were unlikely to have been molested by identifiably gay or lesbian people.

Welcome to this post Muntjack, or Barking Deer, as you are also called. I couldn't have said it better myself. Don't stop a' barkin'!

Can we get back to discussing Civil Law and Civil Rights?

Mainelyme

muntjack,

Well said. All of it!!!

It is a pretty sad day when people stick their nose in other people's personal lives. I think people need to throw away the "Old Testament" and start reading the "New Testament" that talks about FORGIVENESS because you never know someday your own child may come to you and say "I'm Gay". By living with the "Old Testament" you will do or say something so hurtful that makes you no better. I say let people live/marry who ever they choose and keep your nose out of it. You have no more right to stop someone from being happy and I have to stop you.

Muntjack: 2:06 PM Wow.....keep posting here. I concur with BlueCollarBob. You bring much needed illumination, rather than all this "heat."(that goes nowhere.)

Excellent delineation, and your humanity shines through. Wonderful.

Yes, some religious people are extremely hypocritical, downeastdave. Not all, of course. We do not want to paint people with too broad a brush as they do!!

Jennifer: 12:23 PM. Excellent points. And I sure hope it never comes to that!....making men and women go through some kind of test before they marry to make sure they can procreate!! A very troubling and scary thought.

legsyoung, its clearly sin in the new testament also, Romans chapter 1 for starters, and quite clear too for those that think its only my interpretation.

Jennifer: Excellent points you make. 12:17 PM. Elizabethann and others do not seem to believe in and respect the supreme principle of the U.S. government: that is, separation of church and state. Just not important to her and her ilk; they do not respect another's freedom and right to worship as they see fit.

Btw, are you the same Jennifer who I was commenting on train travel with, on another day?.....you do not have to respond to that if you do not wish to, of course.

smartnup: One can understand your perplexity and not knowing how to answer a young child's question about this. Of course , it should be as "simple" an explanation as possible at that age as in any discussion of a sexual nature (with young children.) Only answer what they ask. You could say that people adopt children all the time, and love and care for that child, as kind of a way to talk to them; obviously, with young children, one does not go into the "mechanics" or much detail with any discussion re love relationships (married, unmarried,etc.) And , no, you would not want your children to learn that it is wrong to be "different". Because it sure as heck is not (regardless of some of the "Christians" here who preach otherwise.) The sooner they learn about the rich diversity of this country and world, the more loving and compassionate people they will become.

MainelyTom says it really really well here.

The bigots had their hate rally-how unimpressive. Too bad these "loving" Christians do not do more to alleviate poverty in Maine and address real issues that affect Mainers every day, unfortunately-they are being as "useful" as the KKK.

The bigots had their hate rally-how unimpressive. Too bad these "loving" Christians do not do more to alleviate poverty in Maine and address real issues that affect Mainers every day, unfortunately-they are being as "useful" as the KKK.

frenchloprabbit: Right on. But it seems many of them are not interested in "good works". That doesn't always seem to be a priority of theirs.(you know, while people are going hungry all over the globe,etc) No, I was not at all impressed either...not at all.

Hmmm-I bet Jesus if He came back today, would go have lunch with the very people these so called Christians are marginalizing. Jesus hung out with the undesirables of society.

The real question is, I suppose, Is the Bible, or should it be the standard by which every American must live regardless of his or her faith? Does the United States Government or the government of Maine have any business making it so?

frenchloprabbitz

"Jesus hung out with the undesirables of society. "

Seeing as the populace thought so little of Him that they crucified and hung Him between two thieves, wouldn't you say he was known by the company He use to keep?

Now can we get back to Civil Law?

Mainelyme

Whether or not we should turn to the bible as the basis for our law or not... currently, it is not.

We're far from living under a christian theocracy, exemplified by the number of acts against the christian religion that are not against the law.

IMHO, no, no government has any input as to whether or not I'm christian or live by the christian example for life.

Thanks for your writings Muntjack. I don't like to crawl on the "way to go bro" bandwagon, but I think your input rings true. Keep up the good works folks.

I say if the gay people want to trap themselves into a system that is clearly NOT working for the straight folks (look at the divorce rate) then let them do it. It won't work for them either, it's an outdated, disgusting institution, and should be done away with completely.

How is it that people who want to conserve the ideal and tradition of marriage being between a man and a woman are labeled bigots and hate mongers? I personally don't care what gays do, where they work, or if they coexist in some sort of partnership and have health insurance or other benefits, just don't identify those partnerships with what I identify as a marriage being between a man and a woman. As a man, it would be like calling myself a lesbian...

tedlick can't seem to grasp that we are free in this country to worship any God you choose, and I as a christian fully agree with that. Its a first amendment right. I also have every right to oppose this, that is also my right.

Mainly ME if you want to talk about civil law by all means do so, but in the mean time you don't need to censor me,.

...

If I'm free to worship any god I choose, then I'm free from being forced to follow the tenants of your religion. For that is not my god.

Oppose all you want, as that is within your liberties. Our government has proven, however, that it will not follow your wishes. Examples have already been stated.

frenchloprabbitz

Sorry, but I can't see where that remark was in any way censoring you.

I was simply trying to get the idea across that were these so called Christians alive during Jesus' time then they would be condemning Him, too!

Mainelyme

frenchloprabbitz: Here I go again, being guilty of what tedlicksspeaks of here as "the way to go bro bandwagon" but.......

I have attempted to make the point you make so well at 4:07 PM. I'm sorry but I think it's major. Why do they not see the contradictions, the hypocrisy, of their "positions"?! That is part of the essence of how Jesus lived his life......he did not make these distinctions between people as these so-called Christians do all the time! Jesus would, and did, "hang out" with everybody.

Amen Mainelyme!

Yes chersully it is the same person you were discussing train travel with....I have my own beliefs system although others would have you believe I subscribe to one set of 'rules'.

4him2day is it the states job to enforce your religious views? Or make others bend to your religion? NO!

chersully2000

My sentiments exactly.

I always said, if you're going to hang out then hang out with everybody.

That's just how I continue to live my life.

After all, it's not only fun it's also educational, and it's true there is safety in numbers!

Mainelyme

chersully2000

And I'm saving that last quote for a movie script just as soon as I can figure out which one I want to place it in.

Mainelyme

We have to be very careful with this equal rights crap. In Portland the city counsel wants to allow folks to have chicken farms within the city limits. In time, all them chickens will get together and march on Disgusta demanding equality.Next thing you know you'll have a couple of gay roosters living next door to you.

Spoken like a straight white Christian male! "I've got mine, baby. Equal Rights means crap to me!"

MoeBolduc

I heard a Rooster crow very early one morning years and years ago

It woke me up after an all night society party in Bangor.

There wouldn't be anything wrong with Gay Roosters as I'd rather hear them giggle first thing in the morning then hear them shout, C OCK A DOODLE DO!

Mainelyme

And guess which word wouldn't pass the censor this time?

Honestly, the Bangor Daily News simply won't allow us to use The Queen's English!

Mainelyme

Mainelyme, ...or any cock'll doo!

French...Jesus would have lunch with gay people. Then He would say "go and sin no more".

.

What people do in their private lives is their own business. I have a friend (woman) who really enjoys anal sex with her husband... and I have friends who "swing". They are consenting, agreeable, pleasant, wonderful people who have different tastes than the "norm". What they do hurts no one and satisfies a call in their own lives. Big deal. Same sex love and marriage is not different.

Sharon and 4him...we are getting a glimpse of their lifestyle and belief systems and the fruits of that. I know where your hearts are. God bless you both..God bless you all...

Elizabethann

Tend to your own house

It really sounds like it needs tending too!

Mainely

anne_of_mdi

That was always said about old maids.

Sorry, I'm an old bachelor!

Mainelyme

Certain undesireables among us are starting to completely ruin these discussions with their extremely low mentality.

Maybe it would just be best to petition the News to take these blogs off the web

Some people just don't know how to act in public.

And I'm talking about the extremely low lifes and not just their Christian counterparts!

Perley J. Thibodeau

New York, New York

dontdodo

And you shouldn't think you half baked a ss hole!

People like you should shot, castrated or tortured to death to make sure you don't breed others like you.

Mainelyme

Anne and Mainelyme: You got me laughing.....but in a nice and healthy way, if you know what I mean?!

However, a few or more of the comments here are beyond "distasteful", so I hear you Mainelyme (6:20 PM)

And yes, maybe some fodder here (if you can pick throughtthe detritus) for a movie script!

Kill a breeder for Jesus!

Mainelyme

remember elizabethan Jesus said " 13" It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony.

14" So make up your minds not to prepare beforehand to defend yourselves;

15for I will give you utterance and wisdom which none of your opponents will be able to resist or refute.

16"But you will be betrayed even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death,

17and you will be hated by all because of My name.

18"Yet not a hair of your head will perish.

19" By your endurance you will gain your lives.

The hate towards Christians here is real, its expected, Jesus said it would happen. There are some here pretending to be christians and yet siding with those who hate us. We know who the hypocrites really are and who is picking only the scriptures that fit their need. Contact your representatives and senators and let your voice be heard!!!

a

Mainelyme, these folks do not like Canaries, but they will kiss a cork or two.

dontdodo...that is so totally wrong....

NotNative---- Your private life is just that, Private! I wonder how your friend would feel if she knew you were on this comment thread telling all about her sex life?? REALLY! You said it, it's their own business, so why are you telling on here?

dontdodo, God loves all of us equally, even you.

dontdodo

And all you Christians;

This is the bileful hate and sick minded viciousness that your Jesus is responsible for bringing into this world.

If he were to defend any of you I'd personally crucify him and hang the *!&^#% upside down while doing it !

Perley J.Thibodeau

Mainelyme

That's "and hang the b astard upside down while doing it!

Mainelyme

there you go chersully, your friend perley. Thats the company you keep.

I only have one handle, toots, and the problem is all these drunken christian closet queens would like to get their hands on it!

Jesus Christ has been the biggest cause of intolerance war and trouble in this world for the past two thousand years

And all of you mentally ill followers of him are carrying it right into a whole new millenium.

And yes, your Jesus Christ was a bas tard. Have you ever seen his birth certificate?

Mainelyme

Perley J. Thibodeau

I stand and applaud these people as I write this message for having the moral courage to stand up and do what's right. Marriage has ALWAYS been between a man and a woman. Amen to the good people of Maine. Do not lose the faith. You will make a difference.

SharonFaith...there is a separation of church and state. Thus your arguments quoting the bible are not valid reasons for same sex couples not marrying.

dontdodo The God I know is a forgiving God. No man is without sin and let he who is without sin cast the first stone....I'm assuming you are without sin dontdodo? Some how I doubt it! Maybe you should join Fred Phelps in his sick 'church' seems like you would fit in just fine with that sick b@stard.

I'm just waiting for the hate the sin love the sinner group to show up!

4Him2day

Typical

I'll enjoy watching all you looney bins used for firewood when the true God stokes the flames

The goverment never should have gone into the welfare business.

Before all nut hatches like you were kept safely inside a padded room inside a cage.

Send most of you welfare checks to those fools puting on a show in Augusta. They don't care where the money comes from as long as they get it.

Mainelyme

Has your friend doo doo passed out drunk yet?

Or is he going to beat his wife and kids now?

Turning people off for Jesus!

Mainelyme

mainelyme, my God is so big he even loves you, even after the vile things you have said.

There was a lesbian wedding on a soap opera today! This is the kind of garbage that we're allowing the youth of this country to accept as normal! I applaud every person that went to Augusta to try and save morality.

What is your argument sharon? If it is the bible that is fine but it is YOUR bible NOT everyone's bible! This is a free country and I am free to believe what I want to....just as you are. The Church and State are separate for a reason...so we can all believe what we want and not be persecuted for our beliefs! How would you like it if tomorrow the 'state' decided to enforce Muslim law on our entire land...bet you wouldn't like it one little bit. That is how I feel when people like you start spouting off about the bible...the book that many men wrote! God didn't write it Jesus didn't write it man wrote it!

Mainesurvivor who are you to be the morality police and determine what is morally acceptable. There was a time when inter-racial couples were considered immoral....thank GOD that people got over that. I imagine that the first time they showed that on TV people were yelling from the roof tops but it is all accepted now as it should be.

jennifer you are woefully ignorant of Jesus and the bible, in fact he quoted from every book in the bible. Not something he would be doing if he didn't believe it Himself. 2 Tim 3:16 says all scripture is given by inspiration of God. Thats not some of it but all of it. You don't have to believe it, thats your right. But there are millions of us that do. Please people call your goverment officials and let your voice be heard.

When you say stuff like that about Jesus you are wrong.Jesus loves everyone but hates the sin.Repent from this way of writing .

4Him2day I have called my public officials and told them how I feel...that the separation of church and state is part of the constitution of the USA and I hope that they uphold that when it comes down to a vote.

The concept of separating church and state is often credited to the writings of the British philosopher John Locke. According to his principle of the social contract, Locke argued that the government lacked authority in the realm of individual conscience, as this was something rational people could not cede to the government for it or others to control. For Locke, this created a natural right in the liberty of conscience, which he argued must therefore remain protected from any government authority. These views on religious tolerance and the importance of individual conscience, along with his social contract, became particularly influential in the American colonies and the drafting of the United States Constitution.

The phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson in 1802 to a group identifying themselves as the Danbury Baptists. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes:

Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should "make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof," thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.

Another early user of the term was James Madison, the principal drafter of the United States Bill of Rights, who often wrote of "total separation of the church from the state." "Strongly guarded as is the separation between Religion & Govt in the Constitution of the United States," Madison wrote, and he declared, "practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government is essential to the purity of both, and as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States."

This attitude is further reflected in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, originally authored by Thomas Jefferson, but championed by Madison, and guaranteeing that no one may be compelled to finance any religion or denomination.

... no man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever, nor shall be enforced, restrained, molested, or burthened in his body or goods, nor shall otherwise suffer on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument to maintain, their opinion in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.

Jennifer,

You venture into perilous territory, my friend.

Your posts give me pause... You're spot on in what you say. In fact, I see you as a breath of fresh air.

When it comes to SharonFaith and 4Him2day, you're a voice howling into an uncaring wind. They will not accept that civil law and religious doctrine are not one and the same. It will be a long, lonely night screaming out against those two dark souls. When it's left to them alone, you'll get nothing but scripture, which we've already shown has no tie-in to the point.

You rock. And you're better than those two.

mouse hunt where does it say that in the bible? I can tell you where hate the sin love the sinner came from can you? I bet you would be surprised because he wasn't even a Christian!

thanks tedlick! I am so sick of these religious groups trying to shove their mortality down my throat it is ridiculous! I grew up in a Catholic household where my mother beat the crap out of me daily. According to the bible I am going to hell because I curse my mother I do not honor my mother or father and I will be damned for that. SO....I have found a forgiving God. I am religious but my religion is based on a forgiving God...and heck even these guys will tell you...as long as you beg for forgiveness on your death bed and accept the Lord into your heart you can still be saved! So why bother with all their hate filled BS in the mean time! Life is too short to hate anything! Love one another as I have loved you...Jesus loved everyone and turned no one away! So that means we should love everyone and not turn them away because of their sins in my mind anyway!

Hatefulness and bigotry I can do without!

Hate the sin, love the sinner.

Mahatma Gandhi

Indian political and spiritual leader (1869 - 1948)

“Hate the sin, but love the sinner,” is something that Satan tries to pass off as a Scripture quotation, to get us one step closer to hating sinners, so that we will chase off as unworthy the very people we were sent to save.

"why waste time hating sin, when there are sinners who need to be loved?"

jennifer that was a great history lesson, I'm very familiar with the concept. Allow me to reduce it to "the goverment shall not tell me what God to worship, I'm free to worship as I see fit" That is it in a nutshell.

Exactly 4Him2day so why should everyone be made to worship your God based on your beliefs and live by your moral code?

Do not put the Lord Jesus down he is slow to anger but don,t push him.WE know the gay lifestyle is wrong aways has been always will be.If they get married .It is a choice we have to make in Maine VOTE NO NEVER IN MAINE If some of you want to serve the devil by your actions and writing bad stuff about the Lord.You better watch out you will find yourself in too deep.Never make fun of the holy ghost you will not be forgiven.

4Him2day,

Aint nobody on here said you can't worship the god of your choosing. Allah, Jehovah, Xenu, Thor, Odin... Any one you want. Take one, they're cheap.

What I for one am trying to say: worship what god you want.

But look at the reality of it... your god does not dictate our civil law. Not today, not yesterday, not next week.

What is so hard about that?

Holy Ghost? Must be catholic huh mousehunt? How many children do you have mousehunt?

tedlick nicely said:

But look at the reality of it... your god does not dictate our civil law. Not today, not yesterday, not next week.

What is so hard about that?

Thats my point, jennifer, I'm not asking you to worship my God if you don't want to. I'm sorry for what your mother did to you. That was her sickness not yours. God is NOT going to send you to hell for not honoring a parent that beat you. Don't believe that for a minute. The verses sharon used explained it quite clearly, read them again.

, 4Him2day

Lady;

I don't want anything to do with your god because I don't want anything to do with you!

Mainelyme

Jennifer, I'd also like to add that you do need to forgive your mother for your sake not hers. A great book about forgivness, Corey tenboom who forgave her captors in a nazi concentration camp. Read it

GOD HATES MAINE!

BANGOR IS A CITY OF WHORS

4Him2day....your bible most certainly says I am going to hell for it!

Leviticus says:

"Anyone who curses his father or mother shall be put to death; since he has cursed his father or mother, he has forfeited his life."

It is also one of the ten commandments! Honor thy mother and father as the Lord your God commanded you. Isn't it a mortal sin to break a commandment and not confess/be absolved of the sin? Can't be absolved to the sin if you continue to do the sin the minute you walk out of confession! Mortal sin condemns a person's soul to Hell after death. These sins are considered "mortal" because they constitute a rupture in a person's link to God's saving grace the person's soul becomes dead not merely weakened.

I forgave her a long time ago but I still won't have anything to do with her...hating her took up too much time!

Jesus loves everyone but does not want you to sin.He wants what best for you.Turn from sin and turn toward Jesus he is the way and the truth.The devil wants you to think it all right to sin but it is not.Sin leads to death.Jesus leads to life.

mousehunt aren't you sinning when you judge people?

FWIW evidently homosexual behavior must be a Venial sin because it is not listed among the 'mortal' sins.

jennifer, "mortal sins" is not in scripture, thats purely catholic doctrine. There is only one unpardonable sin, thats rejecting Jesus to the very end, and none of us knows the day we will die. You're playing russian roulette if you think you can do it on your death bed, you may never get that chance. The sin of homsexuality is no worse than any other. My sins are to numerous to count, and as a christian I sin every day. Satin would love you to believe you can't be forgiven, that a lie. And you only have to confess your sins to HIM, not to any priest. Only God can forgive sins. You only have to be sincere that you've sinned, and confess it for what it is. thats a far cry from being sorry you got caught doing something.

Jennifer: Appreciated your post of 8:31 PM. I have said and felt the same thing for a long time....the part about a forgiving and loving God. There is not enough emphasis on that here with some of them . And yes, their religion makes it easy for some serial killer to say "born again" on his deathbed, but given the opportunity to go out into the world, would live the same evil murderous life again.

So good for you....and stick to your religion and loving God. I do the same.

Mousehunt has yet to answer even one question posed to them! Big surprise there huh?

Mark 3: 28I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

Jennifer: i would listen to Thomas Jefferson any day , rather than some of these judgmental ones. Wouldn't you?!

Jennifer thats it exactly. Believe it!!

chersully, you should be ashamed to show your face here after all your posts with mainelyme on the religious page thats been going on for weeks.

calm down don't get a big DICK

maybe.

Yes chersully I would!

Molly11 your are an idiot. Gay marage is disgusting, man on man or woman on woman. If you do not believe in God, then what is our purpose on life to sit here and write on these useless blogs? Or to share companionship and have kids and raise them right, I'm not saying that you think I'm right, but wake up and look around if we were ment to be gay we would die out and not be here now.

Wake up Mainers don't ruin this great state!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wake up Mainers....separation of Church and State! The laws of the land are not to be based on any 'church'!

Mainelyme has a sense of humor.....a few here would not get that, as they are so busy "casting stones."

Refreshing Mainelyme: You are not a hypocrite! Your heart is in the right place, but we don't have to prove that, do we?

Jennifer: Keep your faith and beliefs; they are yours and your private business. Still waters run deep. Many times, it is the ones who are "shouting" and quoting over and over, who ironically, do not have the stronger faith. Something to think about.

GETTING MARRIED TO YOUR OWN GENDER IS WRONG. KEEP IT BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN ONLY. VOTE NO NEVER IN MAINE.

4Him2day: what you say means nothing to me. So keep addressing me all you want....it is a waste of everyone's time.

But I will say , you are one of the most distasteful individuals I have ever encountered......spare me your version of Christianity. I am glad I do not know people like you.

As you can see, I have not been interested in some time in communicating with you, and that disinterest will continue.

Good bye.

GETTING MARRIED TO YOUR OWN GENDER IS WRONG. KEEP IT BETWEEN A MAN AND A WOMAN ONLY VOTE NO NEVER IN MAINE.

One has the right to post wherever they choose here, as a hypocrite here pointed out one time! Unbelievable.....some people have absolutely no credibility.

I am sorry, but seacoast, you are dead wrong, when you state that being gay is natural. It is indeed a choice. You consciously make a decision

to pursue a relationship with a man and man or woman and woman. God made this world and he made man. He also made woman from man.

He joined them together and called it good. Then sin entered into the picture and everything from there went wrong. Satan just loves it when

people as yourself believe that gay is natural. Bullcrap.... If God intended man to be in a relationship, with another man, he would have made

it so from the beginning. But he did not. He made man, then woman and gave HER to him... So, don't try and push those lies that Satan

just loves to hear people state, to justify what their acts of SIN really are.

The Bible was written by a number of authors between 40 and 200 years after Jesus died. King James pulled all of these stories together into a single text. How can you Literalists even pretend that you know more than me about how the Creator or the universe work? You just following some storybook written and sanctioned by a Landowner in the 12th century.

I say that when you die your spirit rises into the Heavens. When it arrives there, God and the Angels do a lollipop dance and click their heels together and say " behold, there is not placeth liketh home). So it is written in the Book of BDN on 2/16/09 by the Prophet Bangorian. Was that so hard to believe?

Hello I am a 20 year old woman In Maine I was raised as a typical straight girl it got drilled into my head as a young lady growing up that a woman marries a man and have kids and get old together the end... However as I was growing up something was not right. I was not interested in boys. I didn’t think anything of it happily graduated Highschool and went to college. I started noticing females. This scared me. It was totally against how I was raised what would I do how would my parents react? Well I finally came to par with my sexuality. I am a Lesbian. Its not my fault. I believe now that love will come to you and in some cases it is in the same sex as you. Now as I realized that I was gay I started realizing that I would never be able to legally get married in my state. This is wrong. Why should people who have no choice but to either be unhappy for all their lives or not get married. It seems unjust. Why should gender count. I love a woman.. Someday I may want to marry this woman. I have many gay and lesbian friends who have been with their partners for years and they cant legally call themselves married just together under a civil union. Why should we have to be penalized for who we are? What is the difference between my love for my girlfriend and my friends love for her boyfriend? The only difference is they can legally get married. Religion should not be pulled into this as numerous people have said it’s a civil issue not a religious issue. I don’t really care if the bible says I am going to be damned for loving a woman According to the word of god he wants us to be happy and if I am happy with a woman then that should be enough for you all. Thank you for your time. I know some of you will disagree but I don’t care its who I am and I am proud.

Jennifer, I too believe in a forgiving and loving God. My belief in Him is my FAITH I gave up religion long ago. Religion is faith with rules and regulations attatched. All are already forgiven past present and future. The cross took care of all that. That is what God's Grace is all about! I believe that God wants us to live a life of love, compassion and service to ALL!

lissa88: Thanks for sharing and believe me, a lot of us here will not make judgments about your life.(not in any way.) And yes, once again, God is all-loving. You do not need to worry!

You should be proud for being the person you are;you sound like a real good person.

I sure wish they had the little smilies on here...especially the little guy that is clapping cause I would use it right now for what maine41 wrote and also lissa88. I do not believe it is a choice. That is my opinion and I am entitled to that opinion! There are other mammals that participate in same sex sex. WHY? It sure isn't to procreate! Is that the only time men and women are having sex to procreate? Heck no! So why do it? Seriously....unless the only time you have sex is to procreate then you have to be a bigot to tell these people it is a choice...it's a choice for you too! Have sex for pleasure or don't have it! Either procreate or abstain! THEN maybe I would be willing to listen to you....

I am just shaking my head. Louise perhaps it is redundant of me to state the obvious, as no names were written, but JUST to soothe your hen's feathers I directed her to my comment. You can sleep now. She was perfectly ok with my example, and is really very open about her sexuality. Much like the people sharing about their abuse history, I gave an example of an alternative sexual choice. And by the way... she thinks gay marriage and unions are acceptable too.

Jennifer

chersully2000

Hang in there you're both looking great.

These sicknics have driven all the decent people away and you two are the only ones left.

You're to be admired and you are.

That's why these monsters will have a special hell of their own as no body wants any thing to do with them, and they're condemned to continue on in an eternity of empty loneliness.

Mainelyme

Oh yes, before I get blasted... in clarification: I DO NOT believe that attraction to the same sex is a choice, in case another of my sentences was ignorantly and/or misinterpreted. I also do not begrudge or belittle anyone's heartfelt love or desire to be together. No amount of Bible thumping and deliberate reinterpretation of the various versions of the Bible are going to change that. I do not believe in Hell, as in the horrible place you go when you die if you sin. Know what Hell is?? Hell is having other people shove their ignorant hate filled agendas down other people's throats.

Thanks....and I spoke of haddock,etc. in the other.....well, you know.

Too may busybodies here sometimes.

Sanctimonious: def: Making a hypocritical show of piety or righteousness.

Sounds familiar........

Countygal: You're confusing sexual behavior (choice) with sexual orientation (nature). I chose my partner based on my orientation. The same applies to straight people. It's a question of who you're attracted to. Even if you lead a celibate life, you still have an orientation.

I don't believe in a god, so your arguments make no sense to me. But I do know that my sexual attraction is very real and very natural for me. I didn't wake up one morning and think "Wow...this would be a great day to turn gay!" But if that's how you became straight, I'd love to hear the story :)

This choice is wrong and the tide is turning and is going to wash this out to sea.That is what this meeting was about in Augusta this is just the beginning we are straight and proud of it.We do not want this shoved at us like it,s some God giving right.It is wrong always has been always will be.This state is getting sick and tired of your views and we will not be defeated.This battle will be long and hard but we will not allow this in this state.This is against man against God against our children.VOTE NO NEVER IN MAINE If you want to live together we can not stop it but to call it a marriage no way .Why should you be able to change this law to make money off the Gov.This is sin plain and simple. Sen. Damon needs to be VOTED OUT OF OFFICE.

lissa88. You go girl.!!! I am doing some Woo Hoo and clapping here..

As for you bible bangers, why don't you all get together to have a revival.?

Some people say they don't want homosexuality shoved down their throats, well there are some of us saying " we don't want your religion shoved down ours".

"It doesn't matter who you love just as long as you are loved"

Chersully when mainelyme posted the following:

On 2/16/09 at 07:41 PM, Mainelyme wrote:

dontdodo

And all you Christians;

This is the bileful hate and sick minded viciousness that your Jesus is responsible for bringing into this world.

If he were to defend any of you I'd personally crucify him and hang the *!&^#% upside down while doing it !

Perley J.Thibodeau

Mainelyme

and then you chersully respond to him by saying: On 2/16/09 at 09:20 PM, chersully2000 wrote:

Mainelyme has a sense of humor.....a few here would not get that, as they are so busy "casting stones."

Refreshing Mainelyme: You are not a hypocrite! Your heart is in the right place, but we don't have to prove that, do we?

Chersully, that goes beyond belief on your part. This is the Jesus you claim to follow that he's talking about, you defending him makes you just as sick as him. I've watched you tear down elizabethann on your "other post". She has to be one of the sweetest people on this site. Your true colors are coming thru vividly. As far as I'm concerned you stepped over the line last night and took it way to far.

seacoast, a drunk or addict didn't wake up suddenly one day and say, hey this would be a great day to be an addict. It starts with a decision as does all sin. I believe your attraction to the same sex is real, I've always held that position. Using our "feelings" is not always a reliable way to determine if something is right or not. You are fortunate you live in a country that permits you to act on those feelings, changing the institute of marriage is not the answer. This has nothing to do with hate or bigotry, Scroll up thru the post and see for yourself where the hate is coming from, its quite obvious.

Lest not we forget that without a marriage license purchased through the state and sanctioned by the state that even those who have a church ceremony are not married in the eyes of the law..... remember it is not just pastors and priests that can perform these ceremonies.

4Him2day,

i know the feelings/urges people get when they want something... or feel its right. but i don't see how that anybody could do that

Do you know Westie that are thoughts can change the make up of the brain. Our environment can physically change the brain. There are awesome studies being done in Australia right now because of the advance in science so much is being found out and actually seen by neuroligists.

There are comments on this section that are really, really sick. Some of you, your souls are in extreme danger. Whether it was done out of anger or a joke those were extremely wrong comments to say. Those were blasphamous comments. 4Him, back off pray for them.....The anger here is evil.....

those who have a church ceremony may not be married in the eyes of the law but they are married in the eyes of their God. All they are asking is to have it recognized for what it is love between 2 people that are totally committed to each other!

I have said before that I think the church should be more worried about adultery. It rips more families apart, cases divorce, destroys children and is a commandment of the bible! So why no outcry for adulterers to not be allowed to marry again? There is more choice involved in that then there is being gay! Marriage is not about procreation, it is about love and a covenant between 2 people!

Mousehunt just how are they going to be making money off the Gov? That is the most ridiculous thing I have heard! haven't you heard of the Marriage Penalty regarding tax law? The Gov would actually end up making money off them! LMAO people need to get a clue!

I am straight and don't think it is anything to be 'proud' of it is just who I am! That would be like saying you are proud because you have brown hair. I will fight and write to every rep and senator in Maine to let them know I am straight and NOT proud of the way my fellow 'straighties' are behaving. What goes on in someones bedroom is their business and who people decide to marry is no one elses business!

I certainly hope that none of you with your bible pounding ways and viciousness against this every have a child or grandchild who is gay....would you write them off an out of your life? Or would you accept them and love them?

like I said its clear where the hate is coming from

Elizabethann, I'm not worried about my own soul but you should be worried about yours....You judge people and their actions. You are casting stones and you are with sin. Like I have said God is caring and loving. He hung out with the less desirable if you read the bible...prostitutes etc. HE accepted EVERYONE...NO matter what!

where was the hate in my post 4Him2day? or in westie's post? since they are the last 2 posted that don't agree with you....yet you make it sound like they are hate filled posts when they are obviously not.

Perhaps you misunderstood my remark - marriage is a civil affair otherwise no on e would have to have a license to have it recognized in law. I was married firstly by a justice of the peace - it was recognized by law and dissolved by law. Because I wasn't able to "marry" my partner as we couldn't apply for a marriage license - we had a commitment ceremony performed by a recognized, ordained minister and it was witnessed by each of our mothers and the minister.

I would like to know how ex. 4him2day etc, regard a civil marriage - one not performed by a clergy member - it is still a marriage in the eyes of your god --- or are my children considered @*&#^!s?

all of the posts as a whole, I didn't single you out.

Marriage is a civil partnership and doesn't require the consecration of any religion. My marriage is heterosexual and the wedding was a simple affair to achieve state recognition for legal purposes only. My affection for my spouse is governed by no one other than me. I don't follow any god or look any farther than my own heart for guidance. Same gender couples who are committed to one another and willing to endure the struggles of a human romantic relationship deserve all of the rights offered to heterosexual couples. It has absolutely nothing to do with god or religion.

Elizabethann - I was raised in an environment where heterosexial relationships were the norm .... and I lived that life for more than 30 years - denying my true self and was miserable! Homosexuality is not just a sex act any more than heterosexuality is. I don't understand your thinking - would you want to be forced to undergo a process in which your brain was changed? You are insinuating that all we need to is make a choice and we will no longer be who we are. I would not ask that of you -

4Him: Granted, sexual desire can, in a way, be compared with drug addiction; we all like a fix now and again, some with more frequency than others. But you're way off track to suggest my sexuality is in any way more of an addiction than yours. Not me or you personally, but gay vs straight.

Physical intimacy plays a very small part in this. My partner and I are in a loving, caring relationship...just like so many dedicated, monogamous straight couples out there. The only difference is, each of us...for whatever reason...is gay, not straight. And the thousands of us who live in Maine would like to see the barrier to marriage come down. We simply can't understand the arguments against it.

religion has no place in CIVIL law!

Can anyone answer my question about whether your god recognizes a civil ceremony ---- I need to let my children know

Elizabethann

Your son can't keep a job not because of his supposedly bad back but because you have driven the poor guy crazy with your sickness and all this garbage you puke up here on this site is what he starts to talk about at work, and no body wants to listen to it.

Shut your mouth, mind your own business and let your poor now deranged son try to get his own thoughts together and live his own live!!

Nopt for Jesus sake but, for his own!

Mainelymer

freewill , westie, and formerlyofmaine: Thanks for your insight and thoughtful posts here....appreciated.

Jennifer: They are twisted and do not even recognize hate-filled posts if it hit them in the eye.....they ought to look in the mirror. Guess who are really the "angry" ones. Jennifer : "Good luck" with those couple of ones. Your post of 9:11 AM - so true.

That is just your opinion of who you think is the "sweetest". Others here have said I am one of the nicer ones. Once again though, you always think you are right. And once you wrote or directed at vichet, "that you were sure I was a good person, sweet,etc." You hypocrite. You never thought that then....you were just playing up to vichet. You are not happy that he sees me so differently than you do and is not amenable to speaking with you much any longer. Oh, you are so transparent.

Anne, Jennifer, Mainelyme: There are some "stalkers" on this site. Even if you make it as plain as day, that you want nothing to do with them and tell them to engage with others here, they have no dignity and continue. A friend of mine stated that that is a form of stalking.

Mainelyme: I do think you are funny, often. But that person decides he knows what parts of what you said I think are funny and which aren't. I have never encountered such a jerk. He really needs to learn to butt out in some cases. I am so glad I do not know people like him.

Jennifer: A few here who profess to be such good Christians are the most un-Christian people I have ever encountered in my life.

SharonFaith where do you stand on heterosexual civil ceremonies - are they recognized by your god?

Jennifer, Anne, Mainelyme,etc.: For someone to go back and read over what I have written (to spend all that time) when I want nothing to do with him and his few cronies here, is demented....truly.

Have a good day.

Those seeking to see gay marriage aren't using a holy book to try and get things done, SharonFaith.

They're looking objectively at how one group of people receives guarantees that others don't. It's a pretty obvious difference.

Your holy book has no place in dictating civil law.

If you feel otherwise, leave this place and take on the Bill of Rights, which by allowing the worship of any god the people choose, removes your god from his throne.

Speak up all you want... but doing it with your holy book is a waste of everybody's time.

Elizabethann - you haven't answered my question - would you want to be forced to undergo a process in which your brain was changed and you were no longer who you are?

I guess you ladies are looking for the answers to my questions in the Book.....

SharonFaith said ACCORDING to the bible...and then you lost me because this is about STATE LAW NOT THE BIBLE! It is fine to speak against it but you can't use the bible as a reason to be against it because the state can't take that into consideration when making the law...due to the separation of Church and State!

Why does that seem so hard for you and others to grasp?

SharonFaith,

It is truth for YOU... not for me... not for the state...

My point to you isn't that you have no faith: everyone here knows you have faith.

My point to you is that our government does not turn to that doctrine when it passes laws on how it treats or affects it's citizenry.

Gay marriage is just one of many areas where government and your doctrine part company: why is it the only one you guys are trying to affect? What makes is to much worse than direct abandonment if your god's commandments?

And if Jesus loves me, then I hope he's better looking than in all the story books I've read.

Jennifer: 9:07 AM You said it so well. I was esp referring to your 2nd paragraph there. They pick and choose, as you know. Yes, adultery is the thing to be outraged about, not what they go on and on about. They are obsessed!!

And they need to get a life, instead of "stalking"... such as going back on a site not being used too much anymore (BDN letter one of a wk or more ago) to see what 2 other people in particular have communicated to each other.They are trouble makers, is all. They thrive on doing this and "try" to "get back" at people. It is none of their business if I, or someone else, have people here I respect and want to interact with. With these few or so there is something lacking though....and they are not compassionate people .

You know what I am saying. Of course I am not saying anyone can't post here and that it is not an open dialogue, so to speak. That is not at all what I am speaking of. It goes way beyond that.

vichet and a few others do not post on the "religious" letter ones....so they get left alone by these few. They could not keep up with him and his intellectual discourse anyway, Interesting , isn't it!!

What does it take to get ANSWERS from either Elizabethann and SharonFaith??????????????

Jennifer: They do not believe in the separation of Church and State! They believe in the separation of State and Church!!

formerlyofmaine ,

Share their faith. They don't listen to anything else.

Mainelyme: I wrote you something benign at 10:37 PM here last night. And unbelievably, a few here with no lives went to that site to check it out??Can you even believe it!! Creepy. As I said, there are various forms of stalking! (They had not been on that site for quite a while, and no one was really going there any longer....so I think we can figure out why they did this AM. Never in my life have I ever seen anything like it.)

Have a nice day.

don't people have better things to do then have a rally about the definition of marriage? get a hobby.

chersully if going to different post voicing your opinion is stalking as you say, then you are perhaps the most guilty of all

Tedlick - I guess if answers aren't in the Book - they don't have any....

Article 16 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses."

It doesn't say that it has to be 1man and 1woman it says men and women. fyi The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, Paris).

According to the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, "It is important to remember that a registered domestic partnership is NOT the same as a marriage and does not entitle partners to rights other than those for which the registry was intended. This registry is intended to allow individuals to have rights of inheritance as well as the rights to make decisions regarding disposal of their deceased partners remains." This is why they want 'marriage'! Domestic Partnerships do not give them the same rights as marriage!

Know what really must get you going is in 2000 the federal census counted 37,881 unmarried-couple households in Maine; of these, 8.95%, or 3,394, were same-sex couples (44% male, 56% female). In contrast, the same census showed 272,152 married couples in the state. Soooo that would mean everytime that this has come up and been voted down it is voted down by MARRIED couples who are not prejudiced like YOU!

Yes I am coming at it from my belief system. You have a right to your beliefs BUT the state can NOT make a law based on YOUR religion because that infringes upon others religious views that aren't in line with yours. I posted the whole constitution/separation of church and state...how it came about and how it has affected our rights.

Formerly of Maine...you wont' get answers from either Elizabethann or SahronFaith unless it is a bible quote. They have no opinion that is their own...it all comes from the bible!

SharonFaith: government and God have parted company because our constitution gave us FREEDOM of Religion! It also gave us separation of church and state so no one group would be persecuted based on religious beliefs....thank God for that!

Mainelyme ....you have absolutely no idea what kind of relationship I have with my children. You think you can feed a few raccoons and that will save your soul.....There is so much anger and hate in your heart beneath all the stuff you put yourself out to be...That is when someones true character comes out.

By the way, the reason my son had a back injury is because it was a work related injury.

it's so the goverment couldn't dictate to anyone what God to worship, we are free to worship any God we choose.

Jennifer,

You are flat out awesome. Where you find your patience to keep pounding against the same, dead wall is beyond me.

Good job.

seacoast...I had no idea that purple was a color reserved just for homosexuals to wear......gay colors...I had no idea.....

How am I infringing upon you?

Now if my religion said that women could only marry men shorter than they are and your 'love' was taller and you wanted to marry him but couldn't because my religious views were considered the 'right' thing how would you feel then?

I am trying to infringe on no one and am not forcing my beliefs on anyone....everyone should have equal rights under the bill of rights and constitution of the USA. Just because YOU believe that gays shouldn't marry doesn't mean they shouldn't! They are to be afforded equal rights under the law of the this land...

our founding fathers would never have dreamed this topic would be open to discussion or I'm sure they would have specified, one man and one woman equals marriage

SharonFaith,

No one's persecuting you in any way, shape, or fashion. We're not telling you you can't follow your beliefs.

We're just saying that your religious doctrine shouldn't be made law.

If you don't like gay marriage, don't follow gays into their bedrooms and you won't be offended. NO ONE is forcing you to accept homosexuality.

How can you claim you are being persecuted for your belief in God? You are free to believe what you want. You do NOT have the right to make others bend to your beliefs and that bothers you terribly...anyone reading your posts can see that.

I'll be back I have a business lunch to go to in a bit...don't want to be accused of being a 'drive by poster'....

ohhhhh 4Him2day are you saying that there were no gays back in the days of the founding fathers? And how can you be so sure what they would have done?

Momto: Not a reserved color, but very associated with gays. Google it. Gay colors are a new concept for you? Seriously? You've never seen our rainbow flags? Wow...

Sanctimonous!! "I guess the Lord had other plans." What a farce. The Lord has plans for better people than you.

you creep. I do not go to posts looking for someone's posts in particular to see what they wrote to someone else. You are a liar on top of everything else. I go to see if anyone has written anything more of interest about politics and some important issues of the day. You big liar.....and your crony too, This day's post is not the one we are referring to,you creep. Even your crony SF said it here."Guess she went ot a different post as the Lord had plans for her." We are talking about a day's post from quite a ways back. There had been no discussions there for some time. (haddock,etc...you fool. Nothing of interest to you, except to see if you could find some fuel to light your fire and give you something to throw at someone, You sanctimonous creep.) You insult people's intelligence (maybe because you do not have any.)

I have never had the interest to go looking for what you post. But there they always are when I am interested in reading someone elses. So I just go quickly by yours (with my name on it or not) to the next. I do not absorb in any real way, what you write. Get a life.....and as BCB, vichet and others have said to you, "Stop trying to get a rise out of some with your "bullying" .....etc. Don't think "your" Jesus would like bullying.

chersully, your post is very confusing, sharon made the comment but sounds like you're talking to me???

seacoast: No, not very informed about what they speak of, so sanctimonously (well, I should say some, not all.)

The color purple is great....part of the rainbow of colors....you know, like a rainbow of people.....a rainbow of nations.....nice thought....inclusivity( a nice goal to attain.)

Im sorry but I believe that God still loves me even though I am a lesbian.. The bible is just paper written on and I don’t believe it is gods sacred word. If he didn’t want Homosexuals to exist then we wouldn’t. The same goes with rapist, murderers, etc. Why cant everyone just mind their own damn business and let everyone lead a happy peaceful rights.. All I want is the same rights as everyone else. If the woman I am with is hospitalized I want to be able to have rights and go in with them and not have to wait for the family to come. Its not right and I don’t understand why everyone else don’t see how we do.

chersully, I just like you look at different post for things that interest me, everyone here does that, including you

lissa88: You deserve, unequivocably, the same rights as me or anyone. I hear you. Of course, what you say is true...if God did not want homosexuals in the world, then of course none would exist,as you say here. Once again, it is not a choice!!

Have a good day.

4him2day - would you be kind enough to answer my question about civil marriage - is it recognized by your god or are my children considered bas tards?

I am thankful that where I live now my partner and I are recognized by the government and the hospital visit etc. would not be questioned!

On 2/16/09 at 10:02 AM, tedlick wrote:

whattayaknow,

God also commands that no one have any gods other than him... but our constitution guarantees us the right to choose any god we wish.

God also says adultry is a sin: but it is not against the law.

God also says that to lie is to commit sin: but (with few legal exceptions) lying is not a crime.

Civil law is not based upon religious doctrine.

THAN,,,, LET GOD DO HIS JOB!!!!!!!!!!!! THEY ARE THE ONLY ONES THAT WILL STAND BEFORE HIM ON JUDGEMENT DAY - ALSO DON'T FORGET MOST PEOPLE TODAY,, ARE BORN IN SIN.........

11:04, 11:07 Am ...Confusing? No, not very confusing at all. I just saw that you had not been on that so-called "religious" site since 2/9/09 until this AM ( 2/18/09) Quite a gap! Guess you were not that interested for some time! But, then when you noticed my post directed at Mainelyme last night (haddock...check the site...busybodies,etc.)...oh gee...all of a sudden (and not since 2/09) you , and maybe your crony, were back checking out that site. Sorry, does not add up. So, do what you like , but no need to lie about it.

So no, not very confusing at all.

BYE.

On 2/17/09 at 10:22 AM, chersully2000 wrote:

"They like us-they really like us!"

Mainelyme

But do we really need that kind of "like"??

Ha, ha.....

Oh, this too shall pass!

chersully2000

I'm sure we don't, darlin' but like mama always said, "You've got to take the bitter with the sweet!"

Mainelyme

seacoast....according to wikipedia and google, purple is a color between red and blue......and I guess i just never paid attention to your "flag"

Dear SharonFaith,

I don't think the homosexual " lifestyle" (whatever that is!!) was being promoted as much as being brought to professionals and students as education and hopefully stop discrimination and bullying. Thankfully I don't have to read word for word all of your posts - as that would mean I was forced to have your religion promoted and put upon me.

I still am waiting for some response to my civil marriage question which everyone seems to have sailed passed......

Sorry listenup....

You obviously missed my point. Why attack gay marriage when there are other ways that our government snubs its nose at your god?

Civil law is not based upon doctrine.

SharonFaith,

Glad to see that you too are a WorldNUTDaily fan!

http://worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=89029

Good news found among the rubbish!

chersully, my confusion comes from you saying you believe in Jesus on one hand and then think mainelyme is funny for saying if Jesus were here today he would hang him on a cross upside down. this what you had to say about it to him yesterday

On 2/16/09 at 09:36 PM, chersully2000 wrote:

Oh dear, Mainelyme! I am in trouble!! I have been chastised tonight on another post (the one about the Augusta rally,etc.) for communicating with Mainelyme on "the religious letter sites."!!! Oh my god. I was told I should feel "shame" for doing so. This fake Christian (male) said I should be ashamed for the company I keep. What am I going to do!! (ha ha ha)

tedlick, why don't you just sue the goverment?

SharonFaith,

You and your completely closed-minded attitude, hate-filled words and stance are PRECISELY why I will NOT EVER set foot in a church as a member again. Do you honestly think "your" God wants that? You are chasing people away! Is this God's message that you are sending? You sound completely brainwashed. It's scary. Go to church and leave the people who are loving, accepting and tolerant (like Jesus was) alone.

Why?

I'm not the one distraught at the leanings of the government for the past decade or so.

I'm the one distraught at folks trying to come between my government and the people they're trying so hard to bring up to par with the rest of the good folks of this country.

Why would I sue the government? They're doing what I want.

http://shop.wnd.com/store/item.asp?ITEM_ID=2453

if their doing what you want whats the problem?

I didn't stutter...

"I'm the one distraught at folks trying to come between my government and the people they're trying so hard to bring up to par with the rest of the good folks of this country."

I'm here on the side of a rational, secular approach to this whole thing, and keep the influence of your kind to a minimum.

momto: Yes, I know the definition of “purple”. When I said to Google it, I thought you'd be more creative and cross reference it with the word "gay". You'll see the association.

You've never noticed rainbow flags or similarly colored bumper stickers? Really? And I don't mean that as a put-down. I live in the southern part of the state where such things a quite prevalent. If you're up in the County or Downeast, I guess gay themes would be rare.

Well ya know what they say about homophobes?!? I'll bet it would be some frightening to know how freaky these types of hate filled lunatics are in their own intimate lifestyles.

Civil Unions between to loving consenting adults does NOT invalidate my marriage.

It truly is mind boggling that this many people are so hateful and intolerant.

"two consenting adults"

Guess I'm not going to get any answers from 4him2day, SharonFaith or elizabethann..... still would like to hear them though.

My point about civil marriage is that god is not mentioned in the vows - there is no religion or religious thought or doctrine in the ceremony. A religious ceremony performed by clergy is not legal in the eyes of the state without the civil license! Therefore as tedlick and many others have stated - religion does not have anything to do with civil law.... and civil law is not based on any religion period.

How much longer is this sex chat got to go?

it is no ones business what another does or does not do in THEIRS LIVES. give me a break. way to much prejudice going on against everything. people need to back off and leave your next door neighbors alone. geez. with all that is going on in this country, people losing their jobs, homes, have no food you think spending money on a thing like this. i would like to know if any of the "HATERS" here have family members who are gay, Lesbian? a child? so, bet they would love to read your rants on this. leave people alone already. I can almost bet these same people are the same ones who talk with their "men" friends about 2 woman getting it on, they are the 1st ones who rent a porno with woman all in it.

On 2/17/09 at 10:34 AM, SharonFaith wrote:

Secular humanism is a belief system.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Secularization is exactly what the USA was intended to be! It is in the constitution and bill of rights! Freedom of religion, Separation of Church and State....we have free will and the laws in the US are to ensure that we are indeed free!

"Secularization as a phenomenon is sometimes credited both to the cultural shifts in society following the emergence of rationality." Rationality as a term is related to the idea of reason a word which following Webster's may be derived as much from older terms referring to thinking itself as from giving an account or an explanation.