Same Sex Partnerships Recognized In Maine
While many state legislatures are passing laws that deny legal recognition to gay and lesbian couples, Maine has made same-sex couples in long-term committed relationships eligible for some of the same benefits married couples have in the state.
Gov. John Baldacci signed a domestic partnership bill Thursday that extends rights such as inheritance eligibility, victim's compensation, guardian rights and next-of-kin status to gay and straight couples who live together under long-term arrangements.
Baldacci said he was signing the bill to demonstrate the state's commitment to civil rights for all citizens. In signing the bill, Maine becomes the fifth state to pass statewide laws that provide rights to unmarried couples.
"This law helps a couple when they may most need legal protection," Betsy Smith, executive director of Equality Maine, said. Smith was one of the leaders who helped push through the legislation. She was also invited to the governor's bill-signing ceremony.
"When your partner dies, it is a very hard time in your life and you may need protection no matter how supportive your family is. Even without a will, under this law someone in a domestic partnership can be able to keep the house and keep their shared property," Smith said.
Equality Maine will help the Department of Human Services create the forms to start the domestic partner registry. A judge would be able to use these forms to recognize the couple's legal status.
To qualify for the registry, a couple will have to have lived together for at least 12 months. The 12-month standard is what the state uses in a 2001 law that gives health benefits to domestic partners and it makes sure private insurers in Maine offer benefits to gay couples.
The law will take effect in 90 days, unless a possible opposition movement succeeds. A group opposed to this law is the Christian Civic League of Maine. In the past, when the Legislature passed a civil rights law that helped protect the GLBT community from discrimination, the League was able to get what Maine calls a "people's veto," in which voters overrode the Legislature via a ballot initiative.
The Christian Civil League of Maine has not said officially if it will pursue such a tactic in this case.
"Hopefully, they won't pursue it, or at least they won't be successful," said Smith. "Then we can really celebrate our win and of course get back to work on that civil rights law. Hopefully, with this domestic partnership law, we can educate people about gay families and then the civil rights law protecting GLBT people would be a no-brainer."
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2004/04/29/2
To me this should have been the route taken by these groups who were pushing for same sex marriage to be legal in the first place, win the smaller battles first on a state by state level then move on to win the proverbial 'war'.
Regards,
Lee
