BANGOR, Maine — Fifty years ago, Patti Woolley of Bangor marched for civil rights with the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
On Friday, she and her partner of more than two decades celebrated the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling making same-sex marriage legal in every state at a noon rally in West Market Square. Attended by about two dozen people, many in the enthusiastic group waved rainbow flags, cheered and wept with joy.
“I’m turning 70 this year, and I never thought I would see it in my lifetime,” Woolley said. “It’s all just marvelous. Now I’m standing here feeling like I can be out and proud and no one is going to stop me anywhere in the country.”
Woolley and wife, Sue McKay, were legally married on July 13, 2013, but had a service of union on July 16, 1994.
In November 2012, Maine was the first state in the country where voters approved same-sex marriage in a referendum election. The marriages of couples who exchanged vows since then were not legalized in states that banned gay marriage until Friday.
“The freedom to marry is one important piece in our critical work in ensuring that all LGBT people are able to live full, authentic lives everywhere,” said Elise Johansen, executive director of EqualityMaine, the organization that led the fight for gay marriage in Maine. “We must continue the work until the lived experience of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people is fulfilling, good, inclusive and equal throughout our world.”
Organizations that oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds were not celebrating the decision.
Carroll Conley of the Christian Civic League of Maine, which lead opposition efforts to the referendum that made same-sex marriage legal in Maine, called the decision “a profound departure from hundreds of years of American history and tradition.”
“[It] also undermines the constitutional role of states to decide important issues related to marriage and family for themselves,” Conley said in an email. “While the Christian Civic League affirms the dignity of all people, it rejects the Court’s view that a state’s support for traditional marriage violates the [14th] Amendment. The League will continue to advocate for traditional values and the protection of religious liberty for all Mainers.”
Bishop Robert Deeley, head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, also criticized the court’s ruling. The diocese also opposed the passage of gay marriage in Maine.
“Today’s decision of the Supreme Court requiring a civil recognition of same-sex ‘marriage’ is a profound disappointment for all who know marriage to be grounded in human nature in the complementarity of man and woman,” he said.
Deeley also said that he was “thankful” the decision said that Justice Anthony Kennedy said that under the First Amendment religions “may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned.”
Liberal religious leaders welcomed the decision.
“As a Christian theologian, I rejoice that this decision recognizes our common humanity and our God-given capacity to love, get married, and be blessed by strong families,” the Rev. Marvin Ellison, who taught for decades at the Bangor Theological Seminary, said Friday. “Some people of faith disagree, but I know the core Bible message is about love and compassion, so today is a very good day.”
Maine lawmakers quickly praised the decision.
“This is a beautiful day for millions of loving, committed couples across the country,” Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Democrat, said in a release. “In dozens of states, there are couples that share homes, raise children and remain committed to each other through good times and bad, but have been denied the basic right of getting married to each other. Today, that changed and same sex couples in every state will have the same rights they enjoy in Maine and the other states that have legalized same-sex marriage.”
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins was one of 300 Republicans who signed on to a friend of the court brief supporting the recognition of the marriages of same-sex couples. In a release, the practicing Catholic praised the decision and how it distinguished between civil marriage ceremonies and religious ceremonies.
“This marks an important day for many of our friends, family members and neighbors,” she said. “As Justice Kennedy wrote, ‘The right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person … and couples of the same-sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.’ I agree.”
Scott Ogden, spokesman for Maine’s independent Sen. Angus King, said King was “filled with pride for all of the brave men and women who have fought tirelessly to end discrimination and who have stood up in the face of intolerance and prejudice. He congratulates them on this momentous occasion.”
King, who is undergoing treatment for prostate cancer, had surgery Friday at a Boston hospital.
For those who gathered in West Market Square, the high court’s ruling was personal.
Brewer City Councilor Bev Uhlenhake and her wife, Sue, have three children.
“My kids are growing up with cousins who are the children of people who are now legally married in their home state of Ohio,” she said after the rally. “They were married in New York because it was not legal where they lived until today.”