This post was submitted by TNG reader, Nathan Tabak.

In less than 24 hours from now (the evening of October 16, for the record) I’ll be flying out to Portland. Not the West Coast hipster mecca, but Portland, Maine. And while I’ve heard much praise for the city’s culture and gay community, I won’t have much of a chance to find out firsthand. After one night in town, I’ll be driving up to Bangor, where I’ll be staying for a full week—not to sightsee, but to work my damn ass off.

Free time? I won’t have much, aside from what time I get to hang out with my fellow volunteers in between shifts. The weather? No doubt cold and miserable. Food? Entirely on my own dime. Transportation? The same; I’ve had recurring fears of careening uncontrollably across an icy, deserted road in my rental car.

But while I have had a few concerns, giving up a week of my life in DC isn’t that big an issue for me, even with my limited resources. Because I’m there for one reason above all else—to work 10-12-hour shifts for Equality Maine, campaigning to defend marriage equality in the state from the efforts of Stand for Marriage Maine, a Catholic-led organization backed by many of the same charming people who helped pass the vile Proposition 8 in California last year.

On May 6, 2009, Maine’s Governor John Baldacci signed the state’s same-sex marriage bill into law, which slated marriage equality to go into effect on September 11, 2001. That didn’t happen.

Thanks to the “people’s veto” provision in Maine’s constitution, any law is subject to a repeal being put on the ballot if a certain number of signatures—one-tenth of the total votes cast in the last gubernatorial election—are gathered within 90 days of the conclusion of the legislative session. Unfortunately, marriage equality opponents succeeded in overcoming the necessary procedural hurdles, and this is what Maine voters will see on the ballot next to Question 1:

“Do you want to reject the new law that lets same-sex couples marry and allows individuals and religious groups to refuse to perform these marriages?”

While a successful veto would lack the weight of an amendment such as Proposition 8 (nothing would stop the legislature from trying in another session), it would still have the practical effect of denying Mainers marriage equality for at least several years, and would be another demoralizing blow against the rights of sexual minorities at the ballot box.

The initial signs are encouraging for our side. The most recent polling, as of this writing, shows No on 1 leading by a substantial 52-43 margin. No on 1 supporters are substantially ahead of Stand for Marriage Maine in fundraising. And the campaign has been running a series of well-produced ads that actually give faces and voices to the people who would be harmed most by a successful repeal. In all three of these regards, No on 1 is significantly better off than where the No on 8 campaign was this time last year.

Of course, none of these are reasons to become complacent and assume that victory is inevitable, as all too many No on 8 supporters did in California. Polls can be inaccurate, last-minute surges can change the fundraising picture, and negative ads can sway voters with fearmongering about what their children can be taught in schools. Early voting is already under way in Maine, making it all the more urgent that Equality Maine get as many boots on the ground as possible. And so I’m contributing a pair of those boots.

Prop 8 leads me to another reason why I’m going: It’s a chance to get involved. It’s one of my shameful secrets, but I have embarrassingly little volunteer or campaign experience. Even at the height of the last presidential campaign, I stayed behind my desk at my liberal media-criticism job, watching Fox News instead of getting my hands dirty in one of the swing states. When Prop 8 itself rolled around, I did little but open my wallet a few times. When that repulsive anti-gay amendment passed, I joined the numerous critics of the No on 8 campaign’s strategy—but didn’t actually do any work with similar causes in other states, including DC itself. Of course, there’s a place for such criticism, and it’s impossible for most people to contribute hours to more than a couple worthy causes. But when I found out about the “Volunteer Vacation” program, I realized that I had the time and the money, and that Maine was where I ought to be—that I needed to remove myself from my comfort zone in the DC bubble, and make a difference on the ground. That’s where this vote comes down to, and I intend to do everything I can over the next week to defend the rights of thousands of LGBT persons in Maine.

If all goes well, this won’t be my last post about my week volunteering up North. I intend to keep a diary to document my experiences over the next week; I’m guessing I’ll have a fair number of interesting stories to share.

I should also note that this trip gave me the inspiration to overcome my writer’s block and write my first post for TNG. I guess that counts as another reason.

---

First time here? See what we're all about... Get involved... Send us a tip!...

---