Friday May 9, 1997
HOUSE VOTES TO PROTECT RIGHTS OF GAYS
BY LIZ CHAPMAN
Sun Journal Staff WriterAUGUSTA - The Maine Legislature made history Thursday when the House voted 84-61 to protect homosexuals from discrimination under the state's Human Rights Act.
Although the Legislature endorsed an identical bill four years ago, then-Gov. John McKernan Jr. vetoed it. This time, Gov. Angus King has promised to sign it into law, making Maine only the llth state in the nation to make it illegal to discriminate against gays in matters of credit, housing, employment and public accommodations.
"I will probably walk out of here not understanding why it's so difficult to do the right thing," said Rep. Robert Cameron, R-Rumford, who voted against the 1993 measure. "But I'm going to do the right thing (now) ... even if it helps only one citizen."
Cameron said he had "dreaded this night for weeks" as he struggled to reach a decision. He got some help from his children, he said, who didn't understand what was causing his uncertainty.
Predicting that many of his constituents in Rumford will be angry over his vote, Cameron added, "I'm proud to be part of an evening that will change the course of history of this state."
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Joel Abromson, R-Portland, passed on a 28-5 vote in the Senate on Wednesday. Both chambers must vote a second time on the measure before it's sent to the governor.
Many legislators who said they supported the measure recalled the humiliation of being ridiculed - or worse - for being Irish or Jewish or Catholic or French. Many more lawmakers said they were convinced that gay people in Maine suffer injustice because of their sexual orientation.
Most of the scores of lawmakers who spoke on the bill urged their peers to approve it. But a few of the 61 detractors also took the floor to question the need for extending the same legal protections to gays that are afforded to other major classes of citizens.
Maine's existing Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on color; religion, ancestry, age, gender, race and mental or physical handicap.
Rep. Priscilla Lane, R-Enfield, argued that passing the anti-discrimination bill would be the first time Mainers gave protection to a behavior.
Rep. G. Paul Waterhouse, R-Bridgton, said he hadn't heard of any gays having problems with discrimination in his hometown and said he doubted an employer would fire a dependable worker based solely on sexual preference.
Waterhouse held out Lewiston as an example of the ramifications of the bill: state law would not allow voters to overturn an anti-discrimination ordinance, as was done in the city in 1993.
Rep. Richard Mailhot, D-Lewiston waited until many legislators spoke on the bill before he asked to be recognized. A member of the Judiciary Committee who favored the bill early in the process, Mailhot said the calls and letters he's received from angry constituents didn't frighten him.
But Mailhot said he was fearful of two things: that some parents and relatives and friends don't accept the homosexuality of family members, and that some employers do discriminate against gays because they're worried about losing business.
Mailhot said a business owner told him 18 months ago that he had found the best receptionist for a job opening at this company - a gay man. But the business owner said he wouldn't hire him.
"I beg you not to discriminate in the state of Maine," Mailhot said.
Rep. Thomas Davidson, D-Brunswick, said he wanted to be able to someday tell his children that he fought for the bill - and that it passed.
In an emotional plea, Davidson said lawmakers seldom get a chance to vote on a bill "that goes right to the human spirit."
"There is no such thing as local control of basic human freedom and basic human rights," he said. "I urge you to embrace this moment, because you won't get many like it."