I urge you all to vote “No” on Question 1 this Nov. 8, because we need to end discrimination in Maine. This is so important that I actually recommend you vote absentee or early at your Town Office, to not risk missing your vote. And then volunteer!

Recently, Maine passed a law that prohibits discrimination against people, on the basis of actual or perceived sexual orientation, in employment, housing, education, credit, and public accommodation. Question 1 asks whether we should repeal it.

Most Mainers are kind, tolerant people, but we need this law to protect our

children, friends, and neighbors from the bigoted few. Even those who do not experience discrimination must otherwise live in constant fear of it as they go about everyday life experiences that the rest of us take for granted. If we do not defeat Question 1, Maine will remain the only New England state to permit this kind of discrimination.

Who wants to live in a community where someone can be fired for what she does in the privacy of her home? Is it fair to deny someone a mortgage because he was born loving members of the same sex? Even if you don’t value community or fairness, you would be concerned that Maine would be forfeiting future prosperity by scaring off tourists and bright young people, who happen to be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered.

Sadly, discrimination happens in Maine. Just look at the personal testimony that folks offered during hearings on the new law. One gay man revealed his homosexuality during his twelfth year working at Bath Iron Works. Threats of violence and murder and an assault by a coworker with a metal bolt drove him from his job, and his sexual orientation cost him three more jobs over the next few years, despite high performance at them all. One gay man lost his job at The Varney Agency, Inc. in Bangor because he was gay. The kids at one school labeled a girl a lesbian because she stuck up for a gay child. They ultimately drove her out of the school. No administrators, teachers, or other children would help her. Other stories included a man fired for a false suspicion that he was gay, a gay couple thrown out of an inn for their sexual orientation, and transgendered people fired from jobs and denied loans because of their sexual orientation. Discrimination happens in Maine.

These are not unsupported stories. The University of Maine’s Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence has released a study of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in Maine, which confirms that discrimination occurs all over our state (www.preventinghate.org/pdfs/glbt.pdf). It discusses 63 incidents of discrimination, half of them in employment, and how this discrimination not only denied victims the right to engage in everyday activities, but also undermined their sense of security and stability. These incidents are just the tip of the iceberg. Victims of discrimination have little to gain and much to lose by telling their stories, as the law has not protected them. We can presume many victims have tragically remained silent.

I believe most Maine people don’t want to live in a state that lets people be discriminated against, and humiliated because of how they were born and whom they love. However, if we don’t stand by our commitments to fairness and community by voting No on #1 Nov.8, we would be supporting the forces of bigotry. We owe it to our friends, neighbors and children to uphold a law that reflects our values. Even one instance of discrimination is too many.