The people of Maine could have stood tall. We could have made history. Better yet, made a difference. Now, Maine is just another state that has denied some of its citizens their basic civil rights. We have taken the homosexual community and made them second-class citizens.

"You cannot marry," we shout in indignation. "A marriage is between one man and one woman for the purpose of procreation."

What about all the heterosexual couples who never have or intend to have children? Conversely, what about all the loving homosexual couples who have adopted many of those couples' unwanted children and given them caring families?

To all the pious people whose God tells them that gays and lesbians should have different laws than we do, I ask, who created these people in the first place? Haven't we learned anything? We thought the world was flat; science proved it was round. We thought homosexuality was a choice; medicine says it is related to genetic makeup. No excuses for ignorance here.

Thankfully, I worship a different God ... full of kindness, compassion, inclusion and love for all creation.

I am not homosexual. I am a 76-year-old mother of five and grandmother of 10.

I apologize to all the wonderful homosexual people in this world. I will fight for their rights to be treated equally. May they one day experience what this country has always stood for: justice for all.

Beth H. Brough, Greenwood