Comments on: Election 2009: Voters Tackle Casinos, Gay Marriage http://www.jaxobserver.com/2009/11/02/election-2009-voters-tackle-casinos-gay-marriage/ Your Independent Alternative! Sat, 13 Aug 2011 16:20:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Philip Chandler http://www.jaxobserver.com/2009/11/02/election-2009-voters-tackle-casinos-gay-marriage/comment-page-1/#comment-4255 Philip Chandler Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:46:09 +0000 http://www.jaxobserver.com/?p=7262#comment-4255 I consider it to be most unfortunate that an issue involving the fundamental rights of a minority (the right to marry has long been deemed by the US Supreme Court to be a fundamental right (Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374 (1978))) should ever be placed on a ballot, for ratification by the people. This is particularly important when the issue at stake involves the fundamental rights of a relatively small minority (the best estimates regarding the size of the gay population range from between 2% to 10% of the general poopulation). We all saw what happened in California when Proposition 8 was put to the people -- the adoption of this state constitutional amendment had the effect of eliminating gay marriage in that state... The Catholic Church -- specifically, the Catholic Diocese of Portland -- has pumped another $152,600.00 into the State of Maine in its attempts to repeal the new gay marriage statute. Other bishops and dioceses have contributed an estimated $214,000.00 to the repeal effort. Whetever became of the legal requirement that a religious organization not engage in political advocacy if that organization is to retain its tax-exempt status? I consider Maggie Gallagher -- President of the misnamed "National Organization for Marriage" (NOW) -- to be the embodiment of pure evil. Any person who tries to rip apart the marriages of other people is, in my opinion, a very cruel, spiteful, and ugly human being. It is my sincere hope that the people of the State of Maine see through this ham-fisted attempt at gay-bashing, and that they vote to retain the Maine gay marriage statute when they cast their votes tomorrow... PHILIP CHANDLER I consider it to be most unfortunate that an issue involving the fundamental rights of a minority (the right to marry has long been deemed by the US Supreme Court to be a fundamental right (Zablocki v. Redhail, 434 U.S. 374 (1978))) should ever be placed on a ballot, for ratification by the people. This is particularly important when the issue at stake involves the fundamental rights of a relatively small minority (the best estimates regarding the size of the gay population range from between 2% to 10% of the general poopulation). We all saw what happened in California when Proposition 8 was put to the people — the adoption of this state constitutional amendment had the effect of eliminating gay marriage in that state…

The Catholic Church — specifically, the Catholic Diocese of Portland — has pumped another $152,600.00 into the State of Maine in its attempts to repeal the new gay marriage statute. Other bishops and dioceses have contributed an estimated $214,000.00 to the repeal effort. Whetever became of the legal requirement that a religious organization not engage in political advocacy if that organization is to retain its tax-exempt status?

I consider Maggie Gallagher — President of the misnamed “National Organization for Marriage” (NOW) — to be the embodiment of pure evil. Any person who tries to rip apart the marriages of other people is, in my opinion, a very cruel, spiteful, and ugly human being.

It is my sincere hope that the people of the State of Maine see through this ham-fisted attempt at gay-bashing, and that they vote to retain the Maine gay marriage statute when they cast their votes tomorrow…

PHILIP CHANDLER

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