I'm heading to Maine this afternoon...

I am heading to Maine this afternoon with "Joe in DC," who is from there. Tomorrow, I'm speaking at a fundraiser for Maine Won't Discriminate, hosted by Joe's sisters and friends. Then back in DC on Monday.

For those of you who may not be aware, Maine passed a law this year banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. The far right is trying to repeal the law through a referendum. In their world, it's okay to fire someone for being gay... or to deny housing to a lesbian... or to refuse service to a same-gender couple.

A lot of people don't realize that it's LEGAL to fire someone simply for being gay in most states and many cities - federal anti-discrimination laws do NOT cover gay people, and despite what people may think, the US Constitution does NOT prohibit all discrimination (oh that it did). This false notion that "it's already illegal to fire someone for being gay" is something many Americans think to be true. It's not. Though that would explain why some people fall for the religious right's "special rights" argument - they actually THINK that gays are already covered by US law and that we're now asking for AN ADDITIONAL law, when in fact, we're not covered at all.

This is the fourth time Maine has had a vote on this issue. Our side has come very close to winning in the past. This year, we have to win. And in fact, we did win in the past - the legislature passed the non-discrimination legislation and the governor signed it. But I guess legislatures only matter when the religious right thinks the legislature will vote DOWN civil rights for gays (in Massachusetts, the religious right DEMANDED the legislature be allowed to vote on marriage rights, only because they thought they had the legislature in their pocket, and they didn't). But no one ever said the love of democracy, or consistent values, was a strong suit for our opponents.

The anti-gay forces want to show that homophobia is acceptable in a progressive blue state, like Maine. That can't happen. The polling numbers look good for our side... but they've looked good before, and we NARROWLY lost. This time we have to make sure the campaign has the resources for the last few weeks to get out their vote. If you like, you can donate to the campaign online here.

The fundraiser tomorrow (Sunday) is in Portland, Maine on Munjoy Hill. Any AMERICAbloggers in the Portland area should definitely stop by and introduce themselves to Joe and me. Maine Won't Discriminate has the details of the exact where and when (it's Sunday, afternoon-ish).

I've never been to Maine... looking forward to seeing the state and helping out, and eating lots of lobster (I hear it's a sin).