 Camera icon indicates an included picture. | Choose the archive for 1995 1997 |
Reverse Chronological Order
| Camera icon indicates an included picture. | Choose the archive for 1995 1997 |
Reverse Chronological Order
The day after a judge in Hawaii ruled that the state can't ban same-sex marriages, many Mainers were beginning to feel the impact of the decision.
Bill Nemitz op-ed piece
Concerned Maine Families, for all its self-righteous rhetoric, is not about maintaining the morality of the community or protecting the principles on which this God-fearing nation was founded. It's about attacking homosexuals -period.
The University of Maine System's decision to extend health insurance and other benefits to the partners of homosexual employees could cause a backlash in the Legislature.
(Sarah Dowling)
As politicians, lawyers and activists debate whether same-sex marriages should be legal, a parallel debate is taking place in churches and synagogues throughout the country over how to treat gay and lesbian couples seeking to pledge commitments to each other.
The benefits are part of the faculty contract that was recently approved by the university system's board. It is believed to be the first time in Maine that same-sex partners of public employees have been offered benefits.
Maine's Attorney General's Office has filed a civil rights lawsuit against two Windham teen-agers who allegedly attacked a youth they thought was gay.
(Frannie)
The woman who got an award and two standing ovations Thursday for her work fighting HIV and AIDS refused to speak of her own achievements. She focused instead on a woman who came before her.
Peabody, 93, will receive the Kerry A. Carson Memorial Award, named for a woman from York who died of HIV-related illness last year at the age of 22. ''It's wonderful to be following Kerry because I think she was an extraordinary person,'' Peabody said. ''She was like a whirlwind.'' Peabody laments the loss of talented young people to AIDS.
The AIDS Project has reversed its decision to drop case management in Androscoggin and Oxford counties, following an increase in state funding for the service.
On the heels of a U.S. Senate vote this week not to recognize homosexual marriages, the 99-year-old Christian Civic League urged state legislators to follow Congress' lead.
Tom Cathcart finds himself at the helm of the Peabody House, the state-licensed boarding home in Portland's West End for people in the advanced stages of AIDS. He started his new job as executive director on June 3, 1996.
It could have turned into a public relations bombshell for Maine's gay and lesbian community. But Michael Rossetti, armed only with common courtesy, skillfully removed the fuse.
The AIDS Project has chosen Stephen T. Moskey of Cape Elizabeth as its new executive director, replacing Deborah Shields, who resigned in October.
Hundreds of people marched through Portland on Saturday in the 10th annual Gay Pride parade, celebrating what many see as an increasing tolerance of homosexuality in Maine.
Claudia Brenner of Ithaca, N.Y., is the keynote speaker at the. Portland Pride kick-off rally in front of Portland City Hall.
McCormick had held a slim lead over Allen throughout most of Tuesday night.
But at 12:30 a.m., Allen took the lead for the first time. The closeness of the race surprised political observers, who had predicted that Allen would win the contest.
The official text of the bill as it will be presented to the legislature if Concerned Maine Families gathers enough signatures. The legislature could then either enact the bill or it will be sent to referendum.
The fundamental fairness of the American people and the Constitution that protects them shone through the U.S. Supreme Court decision Monday, striking down Amendment 2 in Colorado.
Groups opposing gay-rights laws nationwide may try to pass laws modeled after Maine's Question 1 now that the U.S. Supreme Court has struck down Colorado's anti-gay rights amendment.
The anti-gay rights crusader, has too much time on her hands, Gov. Angus King said Wednesday.
Fodor's, a leader in the international travel guide biz, released its groundbreaking "Gay Guide to the USA" last month. We're in there, but only as a province of Massachusetts.
Bill Nemitz op-ed piece on Cosby's return to beleaguer us all -"I wish Carolyn Cosby's winter hibernation had gone on forever - or at least long enough to heal the wounds she and her Concerned Maine Families inflicted statewide last fall."
The group that proposed the unsuccessful referendum last year to prohibit local gay-rights ordinances is trying to initiate a new referendum that would outlaw homosexual marriages.
A leader in efforts to help people with AIDS, she is honored by more than 400 friends and strangers with a birthday to remember.
Corey Corbin of Gardiner wants to be the first openly gay Republican ever elected to the Maine House of Representatives. To accomplish that goal, Corbin will have to overcome not only the GOP's ingrained homophobia, but his own past support for candidates who took strong anti-gay stands.
Tom Allen and Dale McCormick debated for nearly two hours Friday night in a jammed auditorium at Luther Bonney Hall on the Portland campus of the University of Southern Maine. The two Democratic candidates for Maine's 1st Congressional District disagreed on little during a debate Friday night and said they'd support the other if they lose the nomination.
Packed into the First Congregational Church, the town of Eliot bid farewell to a favorite citizen. Robert Olson . . .To an outsider, it may be surprising that in small, traditional Eliot, Maine, a couple such as "the Bobs'' could flourish as popular, respected neighbors. National arguments over gay rights, morality debates on same-sex marriages, and continuing battles over the meaning of family values may suggest there is no room left for privacy and acceptance.
But the case of Bob Olson and Robert Ecke - a gay couple who became central to a town's life - shows otherwise.
State Sen. Dale McCormick has emerged as one of the best-funded candidates for Congress in the country, thanks to the national support she has received from women and gay-rights activists.According to records released last week by the Federal Election Commission, McCormick has raised more money than most of the 250 other candidates who are running for the House this year.
Quit smirking. It's time to seriously consider the possibility Dale McCormick could win the Democratic nomination for Congress in Maine's 1st District.
Reports of the death of Maine Won't Discriminate have been greatly exaggerated. MWD, the broad-based coalition that defeated the anti-gay initiative on last November's ballot, still exists, and is in the process of transforming itself into an organization prepared to spearhead future efforts to expand civil rights, including legalizing gay marriages in Maine.
The Maine Attorney General's Office said Tuesday it has found no proof to support accusations by Concerned Maine Families that fraud marred last November's anti-gay rights referendum.
Instead, the league will seek legislation next year to require a statewide vote if a gay rights bill comes before lawmakers, Executive Director Michael Heath said Monday.
The University of Maine this fall will become the seventh college in the country to open a dormitory for gay and lesbian students, the school said Monday. Proponents say the 10-room wing in Knox Hall will allow homosexuals to pursue academics with the support of those with similar lifestyles.
Outright provides a supportive environment for youths dealing with issues of sexuality.
What Are Kids Learning In School?Among Outright youth who attend Portland public schools ... the consensus seems to be that intolerance toward issues of sexuality is fairly common. All described incidents of verbal abuse, intimidation, threats of being outed and physical abuse.
Motorists trolling for sex partners in Portland neighborhoods would face fines of up to $500 under an anti-cruising ordinance the City Council will consider March 4.
(The Maine Speakout Project For Equal Rights)
Surrounded by more than a dozen strangers, Mike Klaus talked openly about what he must face every day of his life as a gay man in a society that continues to treat gays as second-class citizens.
''As we suspected, there was no fraud. It seems to me that after 2 1/2 months she'd be able to come up with something more than four affidavits by co-workers.''
The Christian Civic League, a leader in Maine's anti-gay rights referendum last fall, is considering a new referendum that would give voters veto power over any gay rights law passed by the Legislature.
A legislative hearing at which Carolyn Cosby had promised to reveal evidence of voter fraud in Maine's anti-gay rights referendum was held Thursday, but Cosby did not appear.
" . . . marriage to the one you love hasn't been a special right in our society for an awfully long time - if you're heterosexual, that is. Nonetheless, this is one issue that really gets anti-gay bigots in a lather. Such marriages would undermine traditional families, they argue. They'd destroy the morals of our nation. They'd be an affront to God."
An $80,000 shortfall in private donations has forced The AIDS Project to lay off its coordinator of volunteers, effective today.
A noteworthy Letter to the Editor refuting the suggestion that the vicious act of child molestation is normalized within gay culture and finds protection and promotion with the gay rights movement.
The state ethics commission has subpoenaed Concerned Maine Families' campaign finance records because of lingering questions from the group's effort to pass an anti-gay rights referendum in November.
Fearing another bruising battle over gay rights in Maine, Lewiston Sen. Gerogette Berube said Tuesday she will withdraw her bill to prohibit same-sex marriages.See the related story on the real gay-rights bill: December 29, 1995.
Portland schools reported 95 incidents of bias among students in the first four months of the school year, according to a new report.
Nine weeks ago, voters said 'no' to discrimination. Their decisiondeserves respect.
Go to The Maine GayNet Archive for 1997 1995 and before
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