Four years ago I scratched my head trying to figure out why Michael Heath, Paul Madore and their compatriots were so adamantly opposed to allowing gay men and women the same rights to employment, housing and credit that other residents of Maine had.

I could not come up with an answer that held any water.

When the people of Maine followed them by a narrow margin, I was even more befuddled. Here we are four years later, and I am scratching my head again. It still does not make sense to me.

The argument, as I understand it this time around, is that a no vote, which would affirm the Legislature’s action to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, is tantamount to agreeing to same-sex marriage.

That is simply a bogus argument on two counts.

The legislation that was passed explicitly states that there is no connection between anti-discrimination and gay marriage.

Secondly, while I am not a lawyer, it is my understanding that gay marriage is a constitutional issue, unrelated to this referendum question. Indeed, a group of lawyers has issued an opinion to that effect.

The effort to tie this referendum to gay marriage is a political ploy to dupe the residents of this state. Those who wish to discriminate – make no mistake, if you vote yes, that is what you are saying – are trying to tap into what they perceive to be a large number who are opposed to gay marriage and connect that sentiment to this initiative.

It is bogus through and through. Worse, it is mean-spirited and designed to deceive voters. My guess is that there are many who oppose gay marriage, but do not want to be part of a discriminatory crusade to exclude gay men and women from basic rights. I think Maine voters are smart enough to understand that they are being manipulated, and I am confident that this cynical effort will be resoundingly defeated at the polls this November.

The other major argument is that the Bible says homosexuality is sinful. Bible scholars disagree about that. Peter Gomes, the Plummer Professor of Moral Theology and the pastor of Memorial Church in Harvard, is one of those. His wonderfully readable “The Good Book” lays out a measured and careful refutation of that approach. If one reads the Bible literally – rather than as the Word of God evolving in space and time – one can get into all sorts of difficult situations. The Bible spoke in the language and idiom of its time. It has to be interpreted into the culture we inhabit and create. I doubt that Madore or Heath would advocate that it is OK to sell their wives into slavery under certain conditions – it is in the Bible, folks. Only the very silly would want to advocate for that.

The Bible I read speaks a very different story to me. It tells me that we are all made in God’s image. Men and women do not choose to be gay. They are born that way. The scientific evidence continues to mount to support that conclusion. God made them that way – in His image!

The overwhelming message of Christ’s life is what? It is love, right? It is not hate. It is not judgment. It is not intolerance. We are told to love one another. Is discrimination to be equated with love? When I read the New Testament as a lay person I think it preaches compassion, forgiveness, inclusion, hope, mercy and love.

Those words do not, in any way, characterize the vitriolic campaign to deny fellow citizens basic rights.

Another often misused argument is that we do not need to have this law, that the Constitution guarantees gays the rights all of the rest of us have. Nonsense.

That was the argument bigots used against African-Americans for centuries. It does not hold. We needed to be explicit about rights for blacks, such as the Voting Rights Act, in order to ensure that they could fully achieve their rights as citizens. The situation is analogous. Don’t be fooled by the “special rights” argument. It is simply erroneous – the law affirms basic rights that are being violated regularly in this state because they are not protected.

I have always believed that prejudice and bigotry fed on fear and ignorance. I still believe that.

So much of what this nation believed about African-Americans was myth concocted from fear and ignorance. Prejudice still exists on racial matters, and it is supported by these twins – ignorance and fear.

But at least now discrimination is illegal, and that is because we passed some laws that gave African-Americans full rights as citizens, and we put the weight of the law of the land behind that. It has made a difference.

The campaign to continue to make it legal to discriminate against gay men and women in this state seeks to feed on the myths that surround their lifestyle. It seeks to stoke the fires of ignorance and fear. But it is even worse than that. It is mean spirited. So, in my dotage, I now think it is not just fear and ignorance that sustain this kind of bigotry, it is also just plain simple meanness and hate.

Maine is the only New England state not to extend these rights in laws to gay people. It is not a distinction of which we can be proud. We have a chance this November to reverse that. I hope and pray that we will.

One final note on this subject. I was appalled that Mr. Madore “staged” a protest against the Rev. Michael Seavey in Lewiston just outside his Church. Seavey is a man of great moral courage, and he deserves support from all quarters. When I read of the incident, I recalled the famous words of attorney Joseph Welsh during the Army-McCarthy hearing in which Sen. Joe McCarthy used every smear tactic he could imagine. Welsh finally said, “Have you no shame, Senator, have you no shame?” Well, Mr. Madore, “have you no shame.”

On an unrelated subject: Kudos to the city of Lewiston for the job that has been done planting grass in the area along Main Street adjacent to the Bates Mill. Great improvement!

Jim Carignan is a retired educator who lives in Harpswell. His e-mail address is [email protected].