AUGUSTA – Maine Attorney General Janet Mills of Farmington testified Wednesday in support of a bill that would allow same-sex marriage to be recognized by the state.

Mills got a standing ovation for her remarks before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, which held a daylong public hearing on the proposed new law.

“People in my community do not mind if two people of the same sex live together, share property together, raise a family together, and that is what we traditionally call marriage,” said Mills, a former Democratic legislator.

She was among about a dozen people from Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties who testified for or against the bill sponsored by Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton.

The locals were about evenly split between support and opposition of the measure.

Mills said passage of the bill would make her job of enforcing Maine’s civil rights laws much easier.

“This act will not require a church to perform a marriage ceremony against its beliefs,” she said. “It will codify the state’s recognition of the civil entity that is marriage in our statutes.”

But religious beliefs drove many to testify in opposition to the measure.

“It’s not my opinion; it’s God’s declaration that homosexuality is sinful,” said Bill Van Tassel of Turner. “God hates sin and he condemns homosexuality. He makes this clear. And no, we are not supposed to stone them.”

Doug Burdeo of Jay said the definition of marriage had already been determined by God.

“We will be judged here, each and every one of us, for the decisions we make today,” he said.

Health concerns drove Margaret Yates of Wilton, a nurse, to speak against the legislation.

“I’m experienced in public health and I’ve seen multiple effects of people raised outside of traditional marriage,” she said. “We need further study before we take this step of same-sex marriage.”

Locals speaking in support of the measure included an Edward Little High School student, a Bates professor and several same-sex couples.

“I am heterosexual, but I have friends who are gay, lesbian, transgender and straight,” said Aiden Boardman, the Edward Little student from Auburn. “It is very important to me that everyone receives equal opportunities. If the Legislature votes against this bill, it will make me feel that the state of Maine says that I am better than my gay and lesbian friends. That is wrong and it isn’t fair.”

Sherry Poland of Lewiston said she and her partner have been raising two foster children for about 10 years and they would like to adopt them. But because they aren’t eligible for the same tax benefits as heterosexual couples, they can’t afford to adopt.

“They deserve parents that can provide them love and stability, but we are not people that make a lot of money,” Poland said. “We could adopt them, but I’m taxed for the benefits (my partner) gets. For some, it might not be much, but for us it’s the difference between adoption or not.”

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