AUGUSTA – Lew Alessio and his husband, Jim Shaffer, have a state marriage certificate granting them all the same rights as heterosexual couples in Massachusetts.

But they live in Maine, which doesn’t allow gay marriage or legally recognize gay marriages performed in other states.

The couple, from Greene, was joined by dozens of other advocates who came to Augusta on Thursday to deliver Valentine’s Day cards to their lawmakers and raise awareness about a bill that would legalize gay marriage in Maine.

“We’re in the position of dealing with inequities of law that treat our relationship differently from those of other citizens,” Alessio said. “We’re here today to ask for what other committed couples have, no more, no less. Not special, not different, not separate – just the same freedoms as other Americans.”

Maine law defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

Alessio and Shaffer delivered their Valentine’s Day card to state Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds. Nutting, who had met with them last fall, has pledged support for the bill, sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton.

Most local legislators were hesitant to weigh in on the bill because the official language has not been drafted yet.

Reps. Michael Beaulieu, R-Auburn, Brian Bolduc, D-Auburn, Mike Carey, D-Lewiston, Mike Lajoie, D-Lewiston, and Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, all said they are undecided.

Rep. Bruce Bickford, R-Auburn, said he would oppose the bill.

“I’m pretty much against it,” he said. “The laws provide enough protection the way they are. To go further, in my mind, is promoting it. I don’t want to promote that lifestyle for my kids or anybody else’s kids.”

Rep. Dick Wagner, D-Lewiston, said as long as no one’s rights would be impeded by the bill’s language, he would support a measure.

“At the moment, I see no problem with it,” he said.

Democratic Sens. Margaret Craven of Lewiston and Deb Simpson of Auburn are also waiting to see the bill before committing their vote to one side or the other.

Simpson said she doesn’t support discrimination, but sees the word marriage as something that represents a religious sacrament.

“I think the state shouldn’t discriminate against which kind of people can enter into contracts and I think churches should decide who can get married in their churches,” she said.

Craven said she was happy to see the couples in the hallways and pledged to keep an open mind.

“Why are we fighting about too much love?” she asked.

Thursday’s event was sponsored by the Maine Freedom to Marry Coalition, which is made up of more than 20 groups, including EqualityMaine, the Maine Civil Liberties Union and the Maine Women’s Lobby.

Shenna Bellows, MCLU’s executive director, said there are more than 400 Maine statutes reference marriage, ranging from family law to health care. The state does have a domestic partnership registry, but it doesn’t provide equal rights to homosexual couples, she said.

“It offers limited protections,” Bellows said.

Alessio is familiar with the limitations of Maine’s law.

Prior to his relationship with Schaffer, he was in a committed partnership for 30 years. When his then-partner was battling pancreatic cancer, they made sure to draw up legal documents they thought would protect them as a couple and in the eyes of the state.

But when Alessio’s partner died, the mortician refused to remove the body from their home. Because they weren’t legally married, Alessio was not considered a legal relative.

“After two years of constant care-giving, at one of the worst times in my life, I was unable to do anything,” he said. “If we had been legally married I would have had the same right as any spouse to sign for his body.”

The coalition will canvass and set up a phone bank on Saturday, which is Valentine’s Day.

Opponents of gay marriage, led by the Maine Family Policy Council, plan to hold a rally Sunday night in Augusta.