Vote your convictions

Arse69, you are a full citizen when you receive all the rights and privilegies that everyone else has. You know "equal protect of the law" and other ideas you hold meaningless. Homosexuals in Maine are denied over 1300 rights and privilegies that heterosexuals enjoy through civil marriage.
Jon Albrecht Dixfield

The general public is invited to attend a panel discussion on Maine referendum #1 tomorrow, Thursday, 10/22, from 11:00-12:00 in the gym at Unity College, 90 Quaker Hill Road, Unity, Maine. The panel is sponsored by The Unity Experience course at Unity College.

Referendum 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?

The panel speakers are listed below. The format: Each speaker will have 8-10 minutes to state her or his position on the referendum. Members of the audience will be invited to make comments or ask questions after all speakers have had their turn.

The speakers:

VOTE YES
Rick Carver Pastor, County Road Baptist Church, New Limerick, ME
Bill Cripe Senior Pastor, Faith Evangelical Free Church, Waterville, ME

VOTE NO
Margaret Beckman Pastor, First Universalist Church, Pittsfield, ME
Penny Guisinger Director of Development and Communications, Cobscook Community
Learning Center, Trescott TWP, ME (speaking as a private citizen, not
representing CCLC)

I thought Gays in USA were already full citizens.

Normally Scotty_O is wrong about everything, but in this case he/she is right. There is no hate in this letter. Its an excellent letter. A bipartisan letter. We should tip our hats to the author. And then go back to fighting for full citizenship for gays and other opposed people's in America.
Jon Albrecht Dixfield

What a great nonpartisan LTTE encouraging citizens to follow through on their right and obligation to vote! No name calling, no bashing, nothing to suggest in this LTTE which way the writer is leaning. Bravo Mr. Derick! You said it very well.

Amen scotty o. This is the current scary attitude. Disagree with the mainstream...hater, bigot, racist......so on. This article was about neutral as it gets. Triumph, just because some disgrees with an opinion doesnt make them a hater, or any of the other LABELS you want to put on them. It simply means they have a diff. view. I like blue, you may like red. Do I now Hate red? Am I a red racist? Am I immediate assumed to be out persecuting the "reds". Thats just a foolish line of thinking. There are those who hate, act on it, and "pass" it on to future generations. No question, Ive witnessed it to. Yet we must be careful to not violate our fundamental rights as American Citizens to peacefull disagree and coexist.

This letter makes a lot of sense to me. Whether then outcome of the vote is in my favor or not, the people will have spoken. So, please, get out and vote.

Hate is clearly visibly? There's nothing hateful here. Where in this article does it promote an anti-gay agenda.... sounds more like a MTV get out the vote campaign. How hateful to construe hate out of thin air.

Here, folks, here is hate clearly visible. I dare you to watch the video of gay bashing this week in NYC (just google: hate crime video NYC) and not come away with an understanding of the hate that is being inflicted by our society on gay people. You've got to be taught to hate and fear. Do we want this hate taught in Maine schools? Legalizing second class citizenry is to keep the door to hate open to any kid who needs to beat up another kid to feel self worth. Don't believe it? Have YOU spent half your life teaching? I have. I have seen it.