Last Friday, the day after conservative religious groups gathered outside the State House to rally against Maine’s new gay rights law and same-sex marriage, Rep. Sonya Sampson, D-Auburn, and Rep. Stan Moody, D-Manchester, were troubled.

They sought out an interview to say they feel religion is being hijacked these days, being used by some conservatives to target gays and bully other Christians who don’t share their views. Targeting gays, not protecting them from discrimination, is not what Jesus would do, Moody and Sampson said.

Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is for all, “not just for the chosen few,” Sampson said.

Besides being legislators, Moody and Sampson have a lot in common.

Both have evangelical religious backgrounds.

Sampson is the daughter of a Pentecostal, fundamentalist preacher a practicing Baptist and married to a Catholic. Moody is pastor of the North Manchester Meeting House Church.

And both are former Republicans.

Moody switched parties over the Iraq war. “Their (the rally-goers outside the State House) catchphrase is Focus on the family.’ Which family? The white upper-middle-class? How about the family in Iraq? One hundred thousand families have been disrupted in Iraq, and yet these same people are not interested in the welfare of these families.”

After Moody voted for the resolution against the Iraq war two years ago, “the Christians came to me and said, Shut up and get behind the president.'”

Moody said he agrees with rally-goers at the State House who complained of a degeneration of family values, “but to suggest that the gays are responsible for that is way over the top.” The trouble began decades ago with the entertainment industry, he said.

“Evangelicals have the same divorce rate as nonbelievers. Come on, if you want to talk about families, let’s talk about our own home lives.”

Sampson said that when she voted to protect gays from discrimination, she was following her beliefs. Her faith does not condone homosexual behavior, but neither does it allow unfairness. She said there are a few Scriptures in the Bible that condemn homosexuality, “but there’s over 3,000 Scriptures that talk about poverty and how we respond to the poor,” Sampson said. Compassion to others rates higher, she said. “I cannot make laws that demand others behave according to my personal beliefs.”

Maine citizens expect legislators to pass laws to promote justice and keep everyone safe, Sampson said. “That’s what we’re trying to do here. We’re not saying that one lifestyle is better than another, we’re just saying if they happen to be gay it is not OK for them to be discriminated against.”

Even though a similar law in Massachusetts led a high court to rule the state could not deny gays the right to marry, Maine’s new law is not about same-sex marriage, Sampson said.

She urged people to think before signing petitions to reverse the law.

“Before you sign that, think about the consequences to the family member, your neighbor, the person you work with who is gay. What’s going to happen to them?” she said.

Bonnie Washuk is a Sun Journal State House reporter